The Young People’s Book Prize celebrates the best science books for under-14s, highlighting books that communicate science to young people in creative and accessible ways. This year’s shortlist was announced last week and covers subjects as diverse as human evolution, the biggest Arctic expedition ever undertaken and a journey through the colours of the rainbow.

The six shortlisted titles were whittled down from over 100 submissions by a panel of scientists, teachers and science communicators. The adult judging panel now hands over responsibility for choosing the overall winner to the 19,000 young judges drawn from more than 770 schools, youth groups and reading clubs across the country who will be reading, discussing and debating the merits of each of the six titles before casting their votes.

Commenting on this year’s shortlist, Chair of Judges Professor Dorothy Bishop FRS, said: “It was a real treat to be tasked with reading over 100 children’s science books. These books capture the wonder of science in such inventive ways, taking readers on a journey and breaking down complicated topics.

“Narrowing them down to just six was an almost-impossible task, but we are thrilled with the shortlist and hope the young judges enjoy reading them as much as we did.”

Congratulations to all this year’s shortlisted authors and illustrators!

 

The 2024 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize Shortlist:

All Bodies are Wonderful by Beth Cox, illustrated by Samantha Meredith (b small)

Engineers Making a Difference by Dr Shini Somara, illustrated by Manuel Šumberac and Adam Allsuch Boardman (What on Earth Books)

Can You Get Rainbows in Space? by Dr Sheila Kanani, illustrated by Liz Kay (Puffin)

Mission: Arctic by Katharina Weiss-Tuider, illustrated by Christian Schneider, translated by Shelley Tanaka (Greystone Kids)

The Expanding World of Data by Tom Jackson, illustrated by Ekaterina Gorelova and Ana Seixas (OUP)

Where Are You Really From? by Adam Rutherford, with contributions from Emma Norry, illustrated by Adam Ming (Wren & Rook)

The winners of this year’s Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize will be announced at an online awards ceremony in March 2025. Find out more about the award and how your school could get involved here.