STEM is an integral part of children’s development. With its pillars of science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM exists as the light that guides human progress. Getting children interested in STEM subjects benefits their development as activities that utilize and share its core develop the physical, mental, social, and emotional aspects of growth.
These benefits are the reasons why it’s important that, as parents, you equip your children with tools and resources that will help nurture their passion and interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.
This article serves as a guide for helping parents like you find the finest and most loved STEM books on the market. These educational resources spark passion and indulge children’s curiosities, encouraging them to ultimately pursue a career in STEM.
Getting your toddler interested in STEM early on is often a side effect of small introductions to fun things that are related to science, tech, and math. “Astronauts Have Feelings Too!” has really no STEM lessons inside, but rather gets your little one excited about the prospects of science through “Astro”, a future astronaut. In this book, your toddler also gets the added lesson of how to deal with “big feelings” and emotions through the eyes of the main character.
Awesome Science Experiments for Kids: 100+ Fun STEM – Rated 4.7 Stars
As children grow more and more curious as they develop and learn more about their surroundings, parents are given the opportunity to teach them about the world in which they live. Awesome Science Experiments for Kids is a great way to use science as teachers about the world works through experiments and brain teasers.
The book provides kids with exercises that can develop their young minds. Through amusing experiments that experts designed to teach kids how to scientifically approach their exploration, experiments, and study their findings, your children’s curiosity and passion for learning are in good hands.
Meteorology Activity Book: Packed with Activities and Meteorology Facts – Rated 4.7 Stars
What is rain? Why is the sky blue? What are clouds?
These are just three of the many questions that children have about the world. Through the Meteorology Activity Book, kids will be learning about the world’s changing weather. With explanations perfectly worded for kids and beautifully drawn activities and visuals on each page, this activity book is an ideal resource for learning.
Friendship, resilience, and perseverance. Ashley Spires, a decorated award-winning author and illustrator, shares the story of a little girl and her best friend, a dog, as they work on a project where they attempt to create the most magnificent thing.
Cleverly written and beautifully illustrated, this funny book about creativity imparts lessons on learning from failures and frustrations. As they read, children will be exposed to emotions like happiness and anger through vividly detailed artwork.
Big Chemistry Experiments for Little Kids – Rated 4.8 Stars
Experience is the finest educator children can have. The Big Chemistry Experiments for Little Kids is an excellent resource for children from three to five years old, enhancing their physical and mental skills through highly interactive chemistry experiments.
This fantastic STEM-based book shares fun activities that children can explore. Experiments that the book features range from slime-making, drawing with invisible ink, making rain clouds in a cup, and many more. Each of these experiments is ideal for growing children as instructions are easy to understand and need only 20 minutes to execute.
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Why – Rated 4.8 Stars
Curious children will have a lot of questions – most of which start with the word why. The National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Why utilizes a question and answer format to deliver fun information to children.
Using games kids can experience first-hand, recipes they can execute, simple crafts they can explore, and more, the Big Book of Why delivers mental and physical lessons through experiences. Developed by seasoned and decorated author Amy Shields, the Big Book of Why is an excellent educational resource that lives up to the National Geographic name.
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs – Rated 4.8 Stars
Studies have confirmed that children who take an early interest in topics like dinosaurs show enhanced cognitive development. The National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs is the amazing third title to Nat Geo’s First Big Book Series.
Your dino-loving children will delight in the variety of content available through this educational resource. Explore dinosaurs, small, big, or gigantic, through highly-detailed illustrations by Franco Tempesta that your children will love. Tempesta is also the amazing artist behind the National Geographic Kids The Ultimate Dinopedia, so the art is nothing short of vivid and excellent.
Let your kids enjoy fun facts and educational information that experts specifically designed for your children’s learning and entertainment. Your young dino lovers will enjoy the interactive content while parents receive tips for carrying the reader’s experience beyond the pages.
100 Easy STEAM Activities: Awesome Hands-On Projects for Aspiring Artists and Engineers – Rated 4.7 Stars
There’s nothing like hands-on STEM experiments to get your kids interested in exploring their interests and passions. Nurture your children’s dream early on with the 100 Easy STEAM Activities: Awesome Hands-On Projects for Aspiring Artists and Engineers.
With the great Andrea Scalzo Yi’s guidance on classic activities, your children can enjoy exercises that develop science, technology, engineering, art, and math. These expertly crafted activities are easy to execute and fun, ensuring a fun time for your kids and even the whole family.
Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids: 50+ Exciting STEAM Projects to Design and Build – Rated 4.7 Stars
Engineering activities work wonders for children’s brain and muscle development. Crafting the tools itself improves bones and muscles in children’s hands to improve their dexterity, motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. On the other, putting the materials together to solve a puzzle improves mental skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
The Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids: 50+ Exciting STEAM Projects to Design and Build provides you and your children with unlimited activities that explore engineering concepts through hands-on exercises.
From brain teasers to brain boosters, Molly Lynch’s expert work on Logic Puzzles for Clever Kids is a fantastic challenge for developing minds. This educational book is bustling with amazing brain exercises for your kids, focusing on bolstering reasoning and critical thinking through over 50 logic puzzles.
The games and activities come in all sorts of varieties. There are seven differently-designed activities that include exercises like sequencing, pattern recognition, analogies, inferences, and a collection of other challenges.
Engage your children’s imagination and mental skills through this awesome book by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton, New York Time Bestselling author and illustrator. This inventive literary adventure combines the best that two award-winning and highly acclaimed professionals can offer.
How to Catch a Dinosaur offers a compelling narrative and amazing brain teasers that will keep your dino-loving children excited for more learning. Children are given the task of proving that dinosaurs are still alive. They can only rely on their brain and a few traps to find the ancient reptile and catch the dinosaur.
My Magical Choices (The Magic of Me Series) – Rated 4.8 Stars
This amazing literary piece seeks to improve children’s emotional and social skills. The story takes the kids through an adventure that makes them positive, resilient, and responsible. Becky Cummings’ narrative and Zuzana Svobodova’s mastery of their respective arts produce an emotional adventure that imparts virtues of fun, serenity, sportsmanship, forgiveness, generosity, and more.
The book also works on children’s language ability. However, the spotlight is certainly on socio-emotional capacities, helping parents reinforce important positive values. It’s an amazing addition to school book nooks and home libraries.
Best STEM Books 5-7 yrs old Kids
Science And Space Activity Book For Kids – Rated 4.4 Stars
Children can enjoy the coloring activities, crossword puzzles, word searches, handwriting drills, connect the dot exercises, scrambled words, and vocabulary challenges that teach them about science and space. The Science And Space Activity Book For Kids provides kids with out-of-this-world exercises that improve overall development. Some of the topics discussed in this book include atoms, magnets, planets, organisms, insects, dinosaurs, satellites, molecules, photosynthesis, DNA, amoebas, and many more. It’s an amazing educational resource that can be used to nurture children’s passion for science and learning.
Awesome Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids: 50 STEAM Projects You Can Eat! – Rated 4.7 Stars
People often forget that cooking itself is a science. This book is a reminder that a lot of science goes on in the kitchen – not just cooking. The Awesome Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids: 50 Steam Projects You Can Eat! is an educational resource filled to the brim with multiple amazing experiments.
Dr. Megan Olivia Hall, the author of the book, assures you that you and your kids can not only enjoy these experiments but eat the results as well! Science and kitchen work is a match made in heaven as activities like flaming cheese puffs and solar-powered smores make for excellent experiments and delicious treats.
Rosie Revere, Engineer (The Questioneers) – 4.9 Stars
A New York Bestseller and a product of an inspired collaboration between Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, Rosie Revere, Engineer (The Questioneers) is a charming and witty story that shares virtues of the pursuit of passion and determination. This book is about reaching for your dreams and rising above failure, inspiring children’s love for science, inventions, and engineering at the same time.
Fun with 50 States: A Big Activity Book for Kids about the Amazing United States – Rated 4.7 Stars
Featuring fun information about the 50 states, the Fun with 50 States: A Big Activity Book for Kids about the Amazing United States is an amazing resource that will keep your kids informed and ahead when it comes to US geography.
Explore over a hundred amazing activities that feature unique and interesting information about the US’ 50 states. Your children will have fun learning as they solve mazes, connect dots, search for words, color pages, crack codes, and match items, working through the various activities available in the book.
Britannica All New Kids’ Encyclopedia: What We Know & What We Don’t – Rated 4.8 Stars
Before the internet, there was the encyclopedia. From science to history, the encyclopedia used to be the primary source of fundamental STEM information. The Britannica All New Kids’ Encyclopedia: What We Know & What We Don’t brings you and your children back to the time where STEM learning is all about fun and education.
This tome of knowledge 424 pages of pure information with beautiful illustrations to match. Over 100 different experts and consultants worked on this amazing resource, and over 1000 images make up the graphics and illustrations within. This excellent product is the epitome of Britannica’s reputation as an authentic and trustworthy source of information.
Have You Thanked an Inventor Today? – Rated 4.8 Stars
Walk back to days past and discover the many forgotten contributions of African-American visionaries. This book is an amazing adventure that looks back at the minorities’ many inventions that enriched American lives.
The story follows a day in the life of a little boy who goes about his day as he points out the many ways that African-American innovation affects the daily American landscape. It’s an incredible tribute to the visionaries lost in time, inspiring African-American youth.
Rylee The Young Rocketeer: A Kids Book About Imagination and Following Your Dreams – Rated 4.7 Stars
Rylee The Young Rocketeer: A Kids Book About Imagination and Following Your Dreams is a book about inspiration, perseverance, and daring to dream. Colorful and fun, this rhyming picture book is an encouraging tale about reaching for the stars and working hard to become what you hope to be. Rylee’s story would be an outstanding addition to academic libraries and bookshelves at home to inspire reading children who are afraid to dream.
Aside from social and emotional lessons, this book also shares information about space and planets. Such themes help nurture children’s passions and interests in the great cosmos.
Human Body Activity Book for Kids – Rates 4.7 Stars
There may be times when children get curious about their bodies. This is why it’s important to inform children that the many changes that the bodies go through are not only normal but essential. The Human Body Activity Book for Kids is an excellent informational resource to teach children about what goes on in their bodies.
The book has something for every part of the body, from eyes and ears to skin and bones. As a way to teach kids about the human body, the book features activities such as connect the dot activities, crosswords, and practical experiments. To maintain children’s attentions and keep them engaged, the book also includes fun trivia that the kids can learn.
Astronomy Activity Book for Kids: 100+ Fun Ways to Learn About Space and Stargazing – Rated 4.7 Stars
The world is beautiful. Stargazing is an amazing activity that every curious mind will enjoy as they appreciate the beauty of the world they live in. This book is an exploration of planets, stars, and constellations that takes curious children through an out-of-this-world experience. The kids can enjoy their astronomical exploration through the book’s interactive features that a former NASA scientist designed herself.
Former NASA Scientist Aurora Lipper will guide your children through an exploration of space and the unknown. The exploration starts with a journey through planets and moons, visiting the celestial bodies within the solar system. After, the voyage reaches the constellations and discusses the Milky Way galaxy. Through the adventure, children will learn facts and trivia about the stars beyond.
This exploration will have kids draw, color, connect dots, explore the hidden object, and have amusing exercises with word puzzles to improve their mental and physical skills. Some of the activities even improve math and reading skills. Overall, the book features over 90 different activities, and the contents are age-appropriate, making everything easy to read and understand.
Difficult Riddles For Smart Kids – Rated 4.6 Stars
Get your brain juices going together as a family with Difficult Riddles for Smart Kids, a challenging activity book for curious minds. Aside from the apparent mental skills that this book develops, your kids can also play with other children their age. Such activities encourage collaboration and cooperation, leading to better social and emotional skills.
Professionals designed every brain teaser in the book to provide a challenge for the whole family. The book’s content primarily focuses on testing children’s lateral thinking abilities, logic, memory, and engaging the brain to improve cognitive thinking. This book is an amazing collaborative activity for your children’s friends and even the family.
Best STEM Books 8-12 yrs old Kids
Code This!: Puzzles, Games, Challenges, and Computer Coding Concepts for the Problem Solver in You – Rated 4.5 Stars
Believe it or not, there are innovative ways to lay the foundations of programming and coding. Jennifer Szymanski’s Code This!: Puzzles, Games, Challenges, and Computer Coding Concepts for the Problem Solver in You is one such way.
Learning can never start too early. By teaching children about critical thinking and finding ways to enhance their problem-solving skills early, kids may discover the coders in them. Through this excellent educational resource, children can explore puzzles, games, and characters, honing their computer science and coding foundations in the process.
The Science Book: Everything You Need to Know About the World and How It Works – Rated 4.7 Stars
Nurture your children’s curiosities with The Science Book: Everything You Need to Know about the World and How It Works, an educational resource encapsulating centuries of scientific discoveries and facts. The book goes through the most interesting children may enjoy. The book covers Natural phenomena, life-changing inventions, scientific facts and trivia, and the most challenging and intriguing questions in modern science.
To engage its young readers, the book pairs its content with stunning visuals and amazing graphics. The book’s illustrative elements range from simple images to complex visuals such as 3D graphics, pictograms, and other photographic materials that allow the authors and express to simplify complex information.
Epic Stories For Kids and Family – Accidental Inventions That Changed Our World – Rated 4.7 Stars
Not all stories about scientific discoveries are equal. While the lifelong pursuit of a discovery or invention is noble and inspiring, stories about world-changing discoveries being accidentally unraveled are their own interesting flavor.
The book Epic Stories For Kids and Family – Accidental Inventions That Changed Our World: Fascinating Origins of Inventions to Inspire Young Readers is an educational resource sharing the many instances when some of the greatest discoveries were uncovered through accidents. From the stories of Coca-Cola, bubble wrap, and the post-it notes people love, this book works through all the amazing tales of accidental scientific discoveries.
The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists: Good Science Makes Great Food – Rated 4.8 Stars
Science exists in everything people do. From breathing to watching TV, STEM is all around us. Cooking, for example, is a fun way to explore science through everyday tasks. The book, The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists: Good Science Makes Great Food contains the many ways you can use scientific principles to create delicious products.
Featuring over 75 safe and fun recipes that children can explore, the book provides activities that kids can enjoy with their parents in the kitchen. Parents and children can work together to create fascinating food through the power of science.
National Geographic Kids Why?: Over 1,111 Answers to Everything – Rated 4.8 Stars
If your children have questions, this book has the answers – all 1111 of them. The concept of the book is simple: to answer the most frequently asked questions by children. From animals to space, this educational STEM book provides information on some of the most curious facts.
This book encourages children to indulge in their curiosities and urges them to keep asking questions. It has all sorts of information ranging from the silliest things to the biggest uncertainties about the world. Expertly written in a way that is fun and entertaining, your kids are sure to keep digging for more and more information.
Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids – Rated 4.8 Stars
It’s important to build a connection between your kids and nature. Through this STEM book, you will be able to be a part of your children’s growing love for nature. The Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids encourages children to explore the outdoors, track their observations, discover, and create things themselves. This valuable resource offers outdoor activities that children can learn from and develop their passion for nature. Featuring over 50 experiments and projects, this book may just inspire them to develop a lifetime of curiosity and love for the world in which they live.
Technology has come a long way, and children have developed a natural affinity for gizmos and gadgets. Written for curious kids who want to know what goes inside their phones and tablets. With the help of experts at National Geographic, the experts bring children and their families a book about dissecting all kinds of technology and finding out what makes them tick.
Go on an exploration of technology and break them down into their simplest forms. The book is complete with informative graphics and fun diagrams that help explain the essential mechanisms in place.
Another Logic Workbook for Gritty Kids – Rated 4.8 Stars
Never run out of ways to improve your children’s cognitive development with the Another Logic Workbook for Gritty Kids. This amazing STEM book will sharpen children’s logic and critical thinking through over 200+ challenging activities. Play with friends and family to help build the foundations of collaboration and cooperation, improving their social and emotional capabilities in the process.
The Carousel King and the Space Mission: A Children’s STEAM Book About Believing in Yourself – Rated 4.8 Stars
Help your kids overcome their fears with The Carousel King and the Space Mission. Follow the story of a brave boy as he strives to overcome his fears. By sharing the story of bravery and determination, you’re sure to inspire the same in your children.
Ada Twist, Scientist: The Why Files – Rated 4.8 Stars
Flight is a curious ability. From birds to kites and airplanes, the ability to fly is an interesting thing for children. This book is an exploration of some of the most famous questions like why airplanes need wings, why birds can’t fly as newborns, and how paper plane designs perform better than other forms.
Takeaway
The world needs STEM-passionate youth even more today. As breakthroughs and discoveries await, children who have a burning passion for the sciences and the other pillars of this field reassure their predecessors and make their generations before them proud. Through resources like the books recommended in this article, the rest of the world can rest assured that the youth will keep their passions burning.
Hi, my name is Elena Jones, and my full-time job is a teacher. Through teaching, I have discovered that children learn in many different ways, and have seen the positive impact both STEM and Montessori toys have on children.
Through this site I hope to educate parents and adults about these toys, providing them with useful information on how they can be used, and provide some in depth reviews of different toys to consider too.
