The
Royal Society has today announced the six inspiring science books that make up
this year’s Young People’s Book Prize shortlist.
Publishers
across the UK have submitted their best recent science books for young people
to the 2015 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize and now an expert adult
judging panel has narrowed them down to six carefully selected books.
The
winning book will now be selected entirely by groups of young people from over
100 schools and youth groups across the UK. These groups will judge all
the shortlisted books and choose the final winner.
The
Prize celebrates the best books that communicate science to young people aged
up to 14 and Professor John
Burland FRS,
Chair of the judges said:
“It’s
been an absolutely wonderful experience reading all of the books entered this
year. We think the shortlist has enough in it to interest young people from all
sides. These books will definitely make science accessible to people who might
feel that it’s not. It was important to the judges that the shortlist cover the
full spectrum of science and exemplified what makes it so exciting – the
shortlist definitely delivers on that aim. It’s now over to the young judges to
select what they think is the top book!”
The
six books shortlisted by the judges are:
365 Science Activities, Various
Authors (Usborne)
The judges said: “Children are hard-wired to do experiments,
to handle things with their own hands, to get a feel for how things work and
why they work. This book is a wonderful resource for children who want to
create their own experiments and find out more about how everything around them
works.”
Frank
Einstein and the Antimatter Motor, by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Brian Biggs (Amulet)
The judges
said: “It’s a great balance of English and Science and if you are interested in
either of those things, this is really the book to read this year.”
Jake’s
Bones, by Jake
McGowan-Lowe (Octopus Books)
The judges
said: “This book has a wonderful personal feel. It’s the story of one boy’s
collection and his own fascination with bones. It will push children not just
to learn from a book but also to go out and explore the countryside.”
Night
Sky Watcher, by
Raman Prinja (QED Publishing Inc.)
The judges
said: “Night Sky Watcher is a great introduction to stars and will
definitely get you out looking for them. It introduces you to well-known stars
and constellations like The Plough and Leo and then encourages you to star hop
to planets and galaxies you may not have come across before, all the
while explaining our amazing universe.”
Tiny:
The Invisible World of Microbes, by Nicola Davies (Walker Books)
The judges
said: “You might not have even heard of microbes before reading this book
however it brings to life beautifully what they are and why they are so
important. It’s also an absolutely gorgeous picture book.”
Utterly
Amazing Science, by
Professor Robert Winston (DK)
The judges
said: “It’s a lovely book. The pop-ups beautifully illustrate a whole wide
range of science from atomic science to volcanic eruptions. We also think the
hand-on experiments it suggests will be very popular with a young audience.”
The
winner will be announced in November 2015.
The
judges on the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize panel this year who
selected the six shortlisted books are:
Professor
John Burland FRS – Emeritus
Professor of Soil Mechanics, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Imperial College London
Dr
Stephanie Schorge – Royal
Society University Research Fellow in the Institute of Neurology, University
College London
Katie
Thistleton – Television
presenter and host of the CBBC Book Club
Dr
Shaun Long – English
teacher at Royal Society Associate School, Bodmin College, Cornwall
Julia
Eccleshare – Writer,
broadcaster and lecturer, and the Guardian's children's books editor
More
information about the prize can be found at:
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