Although I often review science books at my Wrapped in Foil blog, so many great science books are out right now, I thought I’d bring some to your attention here. Not only are science books fun and exciting to read, they make wonderful jumping off points for experiments and activities.

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has just come out with their list of Outstanding Trade Science Books from 2009. Go take a look for summaries of each book, reviews, and links to related websites for further investigations on each topic.

Some examples of recommended science books, organized by theme:

Flying Animals

Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest: Where Birds Begin. Irene Kelly. Holiday House. ISBN 978-0-8234-2102-2

What Bluebirds Do. Pamela F. Kirby. Boyds Mills Press. ISBN 978-1-59078-614-7

A Place for Birds. Melissa Stewart and Higgins Bond (Illustrator). Peachtree Publishers. 32pp. Trade ISBN 978-1-56145-474-7

Face to Face With Penguins. Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott. National Geographic Children’s Books. ISBN 978-1-4263-0561-0.

Flying Eagle. Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and Deborah Kogan Ray (Illustrator). Charlesbridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57091-671-7.

Up, Up, and Away. Ginger Wadsworth and Patricia J. Wynne (Illustrator). Charlesbridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58089-221-6.

Here’s the book trailer for Up, Up, and Away:

In the Trees, Honey Bees! Lori Mortensen and Cris Arbo (Illustrator). Dawn Publications. ISBN 978-1-58469-114-3

Cold and Snow

Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia. Sy Montgomery. Color photographs by Nic Bishop. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 978-0-618-91645-0.

Under the Snow. Melissa Stewart. Illustrated by Constance R. Bergum. Peachtree Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56145-493-8.

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder. Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-6866-2

Ice Scientist: Careers in Frozen Antarctic. Sara L. Latta. Enslow Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7660-3048-0

Water and Oceans

Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again. Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff. Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-0-545-12335-8.

Our World of Water. Beatrice Hollyer. Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an Imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8050-8941-7

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau. Dan Yaccarino. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-375-85573-3.

Into the Deep: The Life of Naturalist and Explorer William Beebe. David Sheldon. Charlesbridge Publishing. 48pp. Trade ISBN 978-1-58089-341-1

Over the Coasts: An Aerial View of Geology. Michael Collier. Mikaya Press. 120pp. Trade ISBN 978-1-931414-42-5

If you are interested in biographies of scientists and inventors, any book from Mike Venezia’s series is a good place to start.

(Please check the disclosure page for information about my affiliation with Amazon.)

Have you read any good science books lately? I’d love to hear about it.