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DIY kids will love this book. Parents will love what they’re learning. Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself begins with an introduction to the Renaissance and a biography of da Vinci, including excerpts from his notebooks and reproductions of his drawings. But the main attraction is the step-by-step instructions for making 19 of da Vinci’s inventions, including a perspectograph, a camera obscura, a hydrometer, invisible ink, walk-on-water shoes, and miniature versions of his helicopter and tank. Adult supervision is recommended where appropriate. For kids who like science and nature.

Perfect for: Kids who like building things.

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This version of An Inconvenient Truth is an adaptation for younger readers of the 2006 bestseller and Oscar-winning documentary by the same name. The juvenile and teen edition contains simplified text enhanced by dramatic photographs, illustrations, and graphs. Al Gore suggests that the global-warming crisis provides an opportunity for change through four simple steps. A head start on environmentalism and a must-read for kids and their parents. Highly recommended.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

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A great find, A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids features the very latest information about the causes and effects of climate change without being heavy-handed. Through its hands-on activities, eco-hero stories and hopeful message, this book will inspire kids, families and schools to join the fight against global warming.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

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The books in Adams Media’s Everything Kids’ series provide encyclopedic yet entertaining introductions to their topics, and this volume on the environment is no exception. Perfect for the curious child, this guide — filled with eco-friendly activities and puzzles — shows them how to reduce waste, recycle materials and protect plants and animals.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

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The veterinarians of Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla Project make house calls — or rather, “forest calls” — tracking down and treating ailing gorillas in the wild. Short chapters present dramatic accounts of real incidents, such as an expedition to untangle a gorilla from an antelope snare or the rescue of an orphaned baby gorilla. Factual information about these endangered animals is included, as well as full-color photos of the gorillas and the doctors. This book will appeal to animal lovers and to kids thinking of careers as veterinarians or naturalists.

Perfect for: Kids who like nonfiction and animals.

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The author of this book, longtime New York Times reporter Joseph Treaster, was in the New Orleans city hall when Hurricane Katrina hit the city in 2005. He draws on his experiences covering Katrina and its aftermath to provide younger readers with a first-hand look at the deadly storms we call hurricanes. Along with his eyewitness accounts, there is information about what scientists currently know about how and why hurricanes form, how they are tracked, and how they impact coastal areas. Precautions and planning for future storms are also discussed. Dramatic color photos enhance the solid information presented in this book.

Perfect for: Kids who like science and nature.

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A prize-winning book that explores the unconventional life of a brash young naturalist.
She’s a turn-of-the-century Texas girl, but 11-year-old Calpurnia Tate is more interested in becoming a scientist than in knitting or cooking. With the help of her grandfather, an amateur naturalist, and Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, she starts doing fieldwork. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is the critically acclaimed story of an outsider who has to forge her own way in the world as she discovers her unique identity.

Perfect for: Kids who like historical fiction.

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