Nature STEM Books for Kids

Whether your kids already love nature or need something to spark their interest, we’ve got books for you! The nature STEM books for kids included below cover a range of topics, from cool insects and smart animals to why water conservation is good for everyone. Ranging from adorable board books to gorgeous volumes for older kids, there is sure to be something that will fuel your child’s interest in wild, wonderful nature.

Disclosure: I received complimentary copies of some of the books below for review purposes; however, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Nature STEM Books for Kids

Enjoy this massive collection of nature STEM books for kids! They are organized roughly by reading level.

The One Little series are board books designed to pique little ones curiosity about nature, organized around concepts like eggs and seeds. With lots of flaps to lift and cut-outs to peek through, these books are ideal for little ones. I especially love that they are designed to get kids outside and exploring the world around them, by showing kids where to look (be sure to look on power lines for birds!) and what they can do to help protect nature (make seed bombs!) Lovely nonfiction books to nurture budding naturalists.

Buy One Little Egg on Amazon or Bookshop

Buy One Little Seed on Amazon or Bookshop

The Start Small, Think Big series of books for young readers helps children see how something small, like an egg or a nut, can connect to larger concepts about the world around them. Little Brown Nut shows how a small Brazil nut can fall from a tree in the Amazon and go through the processes of germination, photosynthesis, and seed dispersal. Small Speckled Egg shows the life cycle of an arctic tern, from its development inside the egg through to its adult life and, finally, the laying of a new speckled egg. It is told in the voice of the bird herself, with facts about arctic terns sprinkled throughout the pages. I love how each spread includes a clock that shows the month, helping kids realize how rapidly the bird develops into a full-grown adult. The books in the series also include a giant, fold out maps showing, for example, wintering grounds and migration routes.

Buy Small Speckled Egg on Amazon or Bookshop

Buy Little Brown Nut on Amazon or Bookshop

Copy That, Copy Cat is an engaging, hands on book that teaches biology and engineering in a kid-friendly way – with animals! It takes many well-known inventions and shows how they were inspired by animals, such as how the snowshoe is based on the large, partially webbed feet of the polar bear. But it even goes a step further to show kids *why* those inventions work. (I learned a lot, too!) Why are airplane wings shaped the way they are? How do flippers help you swim? Kids will love these fun facts and all of the surprises hidden under the flaps found on every page spreads. Because of the way the information is presented, this book works for a wide range of ages. Younger kids can get the overall concepts, while older kids can dig into the details.

Buy Copy That, Copy Cat on Amazon or Bookshop

This board book is a wonderful introduction to the food chain for preschoolers. Little hands will enjoy lifting the flaps to learn more about sea creatures and who eats up in whose belly. The book is filled with bright illustrations and simple text, all leading up to a final surprise – the largest animal dining on one of the smallest!

Buy The Sun Shines on the Sea on Amazon or Bookshop

Want to join the Frog Club? Fabio Frog is here to tell you everything you need to know to be a frog. Just follow his simple rules – like, “Jump Far, Jump Often!” Learn lots of fun facts along the way, and you can even get an honorary membership at the end. Just remember to stay wet and stay cool! A fun book for kids that will expand how they think about frogs (for example, they aren’t all green) and get them wriggling and sticking out their tongues to see how they compare to our amphibious friends!

Buy So You Want to Be a Frog? on Amazon or Bookshop

Do you have a reluctant reader? Try a TOON book! This short book uses a cartoon format to draw in kids that might not otherwise want to read a nature STEM book. It shows the diversity of fishes, and why some creatures that we think are fish really aren’t. (Sorry, starfish!) It also covers things that fish have in common, but also that there are always exceptions! But my favorite section was about goldfish, today seen as commonplace but once so special that they were fit for an Emperor. In Europe, they were considered special gifts! A highly readable book that helps children appreciate the variety of fish life and why they should show more respect for that little fish in their tank.

Buy Something’s Fishy on Amazon or Bookshop

This cute book is all about how and why animals act like they do. Covering topics like migration, singing, and finding food, this book covers all that you wanted to know about birds and more. Using a question and answer style format, it gives detailed responses to queries like how a pelican can soar without flapping its wings, or how a woodpecker knows where to drill for its next meal. Adorable cartoon illustrations and the Fun Facts call-out sections help break up the text. I also loved the section about national birds from around the world, including countries like the US, India, and Costa Rica. Includes instructions for building your own bird feeder.

Buy How Do Birds Sing a Duet?: A Book About Bird Behavior on Amazon or Bookshop

This Q & A style book explores the science of water and how it moves around through the water cycle. Most of us give little thought to where the water that comes out of our faucet comes from, or where it goes when we are finished. This book is a wonderful why to teach children about how we collect water for drinking, etc., and how nature ensures that it will be constantly recycled so that we have enough to use (as long as we don’t interrupt that by taking too much!). It also teaches about different types of clouds (did you know that the average cumulus cloud weighs 1.1 million pounds??), precipitation, and other related topics as well as a section on conservation. A great book to help children be more mindful about water and how humans can affect the water cycle in positive or negative ways.

Buy How Does Water Move Around?: A Book About the Water Cycle on Amazon or Bookshop

Did you ever wonder how animals catch their zzz’s? Perhaps you’ve heard about flamingoes sleeping on one foot and wondered if it was true (it is!) And did you know that the unfortunate giraffes can only nap in 5 minute intervals, so they can keep watch for lions? This book includes the sleeping habits of a range of animals, from the exotic (like polar bears and pythons) to the familiar (like cats and dogs). A fun and fascinating look at one of the most relatable aspects of animal life.

Buy How Animals Sleep on Amazon or Bookshop

You may not expect to find poetry in a list of nature STEM books for kids, but we have several for you! This collection of poetry about the animals that live in and around the pond is accompanied by gorgeous illustrations of life at the pond. From the frog sitting on the lily pad to the water snake guarding her nest, the book captures a day in the life of this vibrant ecosystem. This beautiful book not only conveys a wealth of information, it also captures how it feels to be in the pond: the magic of sunrise over the water, as the red-winged blackbird begins to sing its morning song, and the majesty of the blue heron as it wades through the shallows. It includes more detailed information about the animals at the back of the book.

Buy At the Pond on Amazon or Bookshop

This is a beautiful collection of poems about little creatures who are small but make a big impact. Accompanied by colorful, close up photos, the poems teach children about the importance of those that do the critical work of carrying pollen from one place to another. Featured are those that you would expect, like bees and butterflies, but the book also celebrates lesser known/loved creatures like flies and bats. A great introduction to these essential workers. Includes more details information about pollen and pollinators at the back.

Buy The Mighty Pollinators on Amazon or Bookshop

This collection of nature stories are designed to help children stop and appreciate the little things in nature. Each vignette showcases an animal in nature doing something “ordinary” that is in fact anything but, such as a harvest mouse building a nest or a caterpillar creating its own leaf tent. Told in step by step fashion and accompanied by beautiful illustrations for each stage of the story, the stories help us attend to the magic unfolding all around us in nature. The phenomena featured are all ones that a child in North America could reasonably expect to see, such as beetles, frogs, and snowflakes, emphasizing the wonder of the natural world in our own neighborhoods.

Buy Slow Down and Be Here Now on Amazon or Bookshop

This book is all about, you guessed it, vertebrates! It takes a look at the wide variety of creatures with a skeleton, skull, and backbone. From fish and reptiles to mammals, it looks at what we have in common plus unique features and fun facts for each group. Did you know that frogs have a third eye on their forehead to sense the amount of sunlight? I love the skeletons shown throughout the book, as well as a range of other diagrams, like a shark egg’s development and a representation of reptile skin under a microscope. A great overview of types of vertebrates and their traits.

Buy Versatile Vertebrates on Amazon or Bookshop

This book showcases some extraordinary animals that live in varying ecosystems around the globe, such as the adorable Emperor Tamarin monkey. I love how the animals are categorized, for example, Living in the Trees, and They Fly But They Aren’t Birds. My favorite (after Toxic and Deadly) is Living Fossils, such as the Purple Frog of India, which was only discovered in 2003. A book to be savored, as children learn just how wild and wonderful animals can be.

Buy Amazing Animals Around the World on Amazon or Bookshop

This illustrated book explores reproduction and birth in mammals, from whales and meerkats to humans and kangaroos. It shows how much we all have in common but also how much variety exists. Although this is an introductory book, it includes many facts I didn’t know! For example, did you know that kangaroos have two uteruses, or that orca calves (and their mothers!) don’t sleep for the first month after birth? This is a fascinating read that is sure to keep children’s attention, as they discover similar fun facts, but all within an overarching narrative that helps them understand the big picture, including our role in protecting all life on our shared planet. A great read for older kids. Keep in mind that the book does include drawings of human reproductive organs alongside those of other mammals.

Buy Mama Mammals on Amazon or Bookshop

Kids will love poring over this fascinating volume. It explores the idea of intelligence in animals and how it is measured by scientists. It also features a wide range of intelligent creatures, including rats, orangutans, honey bees, and dolphins. The book is a page turner not just because of the amazing animal behaviors featured and the individual stories (such as that of two dolphins that used to “talk” on the phone to each other). It is also a wonderful way for children to understand *how* we know these things. By giving examples of experiments and how the results are interpreted, it also helps children start to think like scientists themselves. A great book parents will enjoy as well!

Buy Smart Animals on Amazon or Bookshop

This is a gorgeous book that answers all of your burning questions about birds, such as, how do they fly? And what about the ones that don’t? It showcases the incredible variety of bird species and the habitats in which they live while also detailing the features that all birds have in common. It gives a close up look at several fascinating species, such as penguins. It also shows how birds have evolved over time and how they fit into human society – even inspiring mythology and science! A perfect gift for a little bird lover.

Buy Birds Everywhere on Amazon or Bookshop

The innovative setup of this gorgeous book adds to the sense of wonder. Differently sized pages layer onto each other to create in-depth views of each habitat, with fascinating facts about the creatures that live in each. For example, children discover which animals live in the rainforest, from the ground all the way past the canopy to the very top of the trees. The ocean off the eastern coast of Australia looks very different above water than it does as you plunge deeper into the twilight zone and finally to the deep sea. In each layer there are new creatures to discover, making this a book children will want to explore again and again.

Buy Habitats: A Journey in Nature on Amazon or Bookshop

Arborama highlights the wondrous nature of trees. It is a detailed look at the main features of trees and how they are classified, as well as how they benefit us and other creatures. It also contains in-depth portrayals of more than 50 individual species of North American trees, from the American sycamore to the white spruce. I love how all-encompassing the book is. In addition to a wealth of scientific information, it explains how trees benefit our society but also how they are being endangered by us. Most importantly, it also includes tips on how we can help the trees that do so much for us.

Buy Arborama on Amazon or Bookshop

Did you know that plants can communicate? Roots communicate danger from one plant to another, while other plants give off a scent to warn their neighbors when a greedy insect invades. Plants even communicate to help a relative who is short on food. You will never look at plants the same way after reading this book! And young readers will love the humorous illustrations and the open-and-shut flaps throughout the book.

Buy How Plants Talk on Amazon or Bookshop

If you think the idea that plants communicate is science fiction, you aren’t alone! But scientists have discover that plants do have ways of “talking” with each other, making plants a lot more interesting than you think! For example, the “wood wide web” is a complex communication system of information sharing taking place right under our feet. But plants can also compete and get stressed out. The book also shows the incredible memory of many plants and how they are affected by sensory interactions like smell, hearing, and touch. This fascinating book is great for older kids – and one of the nature STEM books you are guaranteed to be borrowing from them to read yourself!

Buy The Language of Plants: Understanding How Plants Communicate on Amazon or Bookshop

This book explores fascinating insects from around the world. It includes favorites like bees and butterflies but also poisonous insects like blistering bugs and builders like the junk bug. It also answers your burning questions about why spiders aren’t insects, and whether bugs and insects are the same thing (spoiler: they aren’t!) It also explains plagues and swarms (useful if you are in the areas affected by cicadas!), but also shows the ways that insects help our ecosystems and contribute to life on the planet.

Buy Amazing Insects Around the World on Amazon or Bookshop

Dive into the wonderful world of creepy crawlies with this impressive tome! It covers all types of insects, with 30 full page insect portraits, along with an observation guide for each and smaller illustrations of it at each stage of its development. The book is full of fun facts about the featured insects, including how to find them, how they survive, and what we can do to help them out! For example, did you know that crushing a cockroach lets out a scent that only attracts more cockroaches? Or that an anthill has specialized chambers, including a nursery and a graveyard? The book also includes general sections on insect development, migration, and more. Become an expert with this excellent, fact-filled book for young nature lovers.

Buy Insectorama on Amazon or Bookshop

The book about migration is divided into air, land, and sea journeys, plus a section on navigating change. It explores the hows and whys animals migrate, plus how we know all of this. I love that the book helps children understand how vital it is that scientists gather such information by showing how crucial it is to conservation efforts. Children will love the book’s full color illustrations. I was impressed with how the detailed information was broken up into small sections, making it easy for readers to digest. A beautiful book that will give children lots of big picture understanding in addition to giving them information they can zoom in on about specific animals.

Buy Epic Animal Journeys: Navigation and migration by air, land and sea on Amazon or Bookshop

What are your favorite nature STEM books for kids?

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