Kid Science Book Finalists Announced
By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 10/28/2009
Books that chronicle a day of scientific mishaps, the 1991 discovery of the oldest mummy in the Italian Alps, and a meticulously illustrated depiction of the Apollo 11 moon flight are among the finalists for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Prizes for Excellence in Science Books for children and young adults.
However, surprisingly missing from the list is Deborah Heiligman’s Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith (Holt, 2008), about the controversial scientist and the effect of his marriage on his life and work. Although this National Book Award nominee is also in the running for other major book awards, AAAS judges say it didn’t receive the necessary votes to make the cut.
Cosponsored by Subaru, the AAAS awards celebrate outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults published between September 2008 and September 2009. The prize, a plaque and $1,500 in cash, are meant to encourage the writing and publishing of high-quality science books for all age groups. AAAS and its 138,000 members believe that through good science books this generation and the next will have a better understanding and appreciation of science.
Launched in 2006, the selection committee is composed of scientists, science literature experts, and librarians. Nine of the 21 judges this year were librarians including, Terry Young, a media specialist at West Jefferson High School in Harvey, LA, and Cheryl Weems, librarian at Bend Public Library in Bend, OR.
Winners will be announced in early January.
The finalists are:
Children’s Science Picture Books
Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life(Blue Sky Press, 2009) by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm, illustrated by Molly Bang.
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 (Atheneum, 2009) by Brian Floca.
Redwood (Roaring Brook, 2009) by Jason Chin.
What Bluebirds Do?(Boyds Mills, 2009) by Pamela F. Kirby.
Middle Grades Science Books
Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past (Houghton, 2008) by James M. Deem.
Cars on Mars: Roving the Red Planet(Charlesbridge, 2009) by Alexandra Siy.
The Frog Scientist (Houghton, 2009) by Pamela S. Turner, illustrated by Andy Comins.
Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From(Houghton, 2009) by Catherine Thimmesh.
Mission Control, this is Apollo: The Story of the First Voyages to the Moon (Viking, 2009) by Andrew Chaikin.
Young Adult Science Books
Confessions of An Alien Hunter: A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence(National Geographic Society, 2008) by Seth Shostak.
Invisible Kingdom: From the Tips of Our Fingers to the Tops of Our Trash, Inside the Curious World of Microbes (Basic Books, 2009) by Idah Ben-Barak
The Survivor's Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life(Grand Central, 2009) by Ben Sherwood.
Why Sh*t Happens: The Science of a Really Bad Day (Rodale Press, 2009) by Peter J. Bentley.
