The National Science Teachers Association has announced their 2013 list of Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12. Lists like these become all the more important for school and public librarians thanks to the new common core standards that emphasize reading more nonfiction books. Here are their top picks for books published in 2012:
ABC ZooBorns! by Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland
About Habitats: Oceans by Cathryn Sill, illustrated by John Sill
Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird by Stephanie Spinner, illustrated by Meilo So
Alien Deep: Mysterious Underwater World Revealed! by Bradley Hague
Animal Grossapedia by Melissa Stewart
Barnum’s Bones: How Barnum Brown Discovered the Most Famous Dinosaur in the World by Tracey Fern, illustrated by Boris Kulikov
The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins
Birds of a Feather by Bernadette Gervais and Francesco Pittau
Black Gold: The Story of Oil in Our Lives by Albert Marrin
Body Actions by Shelley Rotner, illustrated by David A. White
Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal – the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
The Book of Blood: From Legends and Leeches to Vampires and Veins by HP Newquist
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery in Your Own Backyard by Loree Griffin Burns
D Is for Desert: A World Deserts Alphabet by Barbara Gowan
Desert Baths by Darcy Pattison
Dolphin Baby! by Nicola Davies
Eight Days Gone by Linda McReynolds, illustrated by Ryan O’Rourke
Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner
Faces from the Past: Forgotten People of North America by James M. Deem
Forensic Identification: Putting a Name and Face on Death by Elizabeth A. Murray
Frogs! by Laurence Pringle
Get the Scoop on Animal Poop! by Dawn Cusick
Giant Squid: Searching for a Sea Monster by Mary M. Cerullo
Gopher to the Rescue! A Volcano Recovery Story by Terry Catasus
Hiss-s-s-s! by Eric A. Kimmel
I, Galileo by Bonnie Christensen
Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure by Jim Murphy and Alison Blank
Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin
Ladybugs by Gail Gibbons
Leopard and Silkie: One Boy’s Quest to Save the Seal Pups by Brenda Peterson, photographs by Robin Lindsey
Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola
The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip M. Hoose
My First Day by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Nature’s Patchwork Quilt: Understanding Habitats by Mary Miche, illustrated by Consie Powell
Nic Bishop Snakes by Nic Bishop
One White Dolphin by Gill Lewis
Open Wide! A Look inside Animal Mouths by Catherine Ham
Out of This World: Poems and Facts about Space by Amy E. Sklansky, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth by Anita Silvey
The Polar Bear Scientists by Peter Lourie
Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor
Saving Animals from Oil Spills by Stephen Person
Saving Yasha: The Incredible True Story of an Adopted Moon Bear by Lia Kvatum, photographs by Liya Pokrovskaya
Scholastic Discover More: The Elements by Dan Green
Seababy by Ellen Levine
Seahorses by Jennifer Keats Curtis
Seymour Simon’s Extreme Earth Records by Seymour Simon
Sneed B. Collard III’s Most Fun Book Ever about Lizards by Sneed B. Collard III
Survival at 120 Above by Debbie S. Miller, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle
Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery
Track That Scat! by Lisa Morlock
Waiting for Ice by Sandra Markle
A Warmer World: From Polar Bears to Butterflies, How Climate Change Affects Wildlife by Caroline Arnold, illustrated by Jamie Hogan
What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld
Wild Horse Scientists by Kay Frydenborg
Waking Brain Cells 