3 Weeks in the Rainforest: A Rapid Inventory in the AmazonJennifer Swanson3 Weeks in the Rainforest follows a women-led Field Museum team during a three-week rapid inventory in the Colombian Amazon, showing how scientific and community evidence can support rainforest conservation.Winning TitlesLexile 920LView book detailsNSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12 2026
Science books selected each year by NSTA and the Children's Book Council.
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12 2026See the original list
Selections35
Published byNational Science Teaching Association
SectionsWinning Titles
Winning Titles
35 selections
3 Weeks in the Rainforest: A Rapid Inventory in the AmazonJennifer Swanson3 Weeks in the Rainforest follows a women-led Field Museum team during a three-week rapid inventory in the Colombian Amazon, showing how scientific and community evidence can support rainforest conservation.Winning TitlesLexile 920LView book details
Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la PapaSara Andrea Fajardo, illustrated by Juana Martinez-NealThis picture-book biography follows Peruvian agricultural scientist Alberto Salas through the Andes as he searches for potato varieties threatened by climate change.Winning TitlesATOS 3.6AR interest LG K-3View book details
The Big Empty: A Sagebrush Survival StoryKirbi FaganNarrated by a big sagebrush, this picture book shows how the resilient plant supports a western ecosystem and returns after wildfire.Winning TitlesLexile 630LFountas & Pinnell RView book details
The Black Mambas: The World's First All-Woman Anti-Poaching UnitKelly CrullThe Black Mambas follows South Africa's first women-led anti-poaching unit as its unarmed rangers patrol a nature reserve, detect signs of poachers, and protect rhinos, pangolins, and other wildlife.Winning TitlesLexile 720LATOS 4.6View book details
The Blue Jays that Grew a ForestLynn Street, illustrated by Anne HunterBlue jays scatter and cache acorns, quietly helping oak forests grow in this introduction to an important ecological partnership.Winning TitlesView book details
Detective Dogs: How Working Dogs Sniff Out Invasive SpeciesAlison Pearce StevensWorking dogs and their handlers track hard-to-find invasive species in this introduction to field conservation across the United States and Canada.Winning TitlesView book details
The Doomsday Detectives: How Walter and Luis Alvarez Solved the Mystery of Dinosaur ExtinctionCindy Jenson-Elliott, illustrated by Theo Nicole LorenzWalter and Luis Alvarez assemble evidence from geology, chemistry, and paleontology to investigate the asteroid impact that ended the age of dinosaurs.Winning TitlesATOS 8.8AR interest MG+View book details
Firefly Song: Lynn Frierson Faust and the Great Smoky Mountain DiscoveryColleen Paeff, illustrated by Ji-Hyuk KimLynn Frierson Faust observes the synchronized fireflies of the Great Smoky Mountains and persists until scientists recognize the remarkable display she has documented.Winning TitlesView book details
ForestsNell Cross Beckerman, illustrated by Kalen ChockA lyrical and visual tour of forests around the world explores their diversity, importance, threats, and conservation.Winning TitlesATOS 4.8AR interest LG K-3View book details
The Girl Who Tested the Waters: Ellen Swallow, Environmental ScientistPatricia Daniele, illustrated by Junyi WuEllen Swallow becomes MIT's first woman student, applies chemistry to Boston's polluted water, and helps open science education and environmental work to future generations.Winning TitlesView book details
If You Like ButterfliesLola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Gabi SwiatkowskaThis nature picture book uses a child's interest in butterflies to reveal the plants, animals, and ecological connections that surround them.Winning TitlesView book details
Jellyfish Scientist: Maude Delap and Her Mesmerizing MedusasMichelle Cusolito, illustrated by Ellen RooneyThis biography recounts Maude Delap's pioneering observations of jellyfish and the patient experiments that helped explain their life cycle.Winning TitlesView book details
Jeremy, the English Garden Snail: Heredity, Citizen Science, and #snailloveDarcy Pattison, illustrated by Olga GoninaThe search for a mate for Jeremy, a rare left-coiling snail, becomes an accessible story about heredity, variation, and citizen science.Winning TitlesView book details
Just in Case: Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed VaultMegan Clendenan, illustrated by Brittany CiccheseJust in Case explains why the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was built, what it is like inside, and how its underground collection protects seeds that may be needed for the world's future food supply.Winning TitlesLexile 850LATOS 4.8View book details
The Little Lobster: A Lobster TaleW. Thomas Hotz, illustrated by Estelle CorkeA young lobster's journey through the coastal ocean introduces the animal's growth, habitat, predators, and place in a changing marine ecosystem.Winning TitlesView book details
Magic in a Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick Taught the World about Water PollutionJulie WinterbottomRuth Patrick studies the organisms living in rivers and shows how whole ecosystems can reveal the effects of water pollution.Winning TitlesLexile 770LView book details
Marjory's River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the EvergladesJosie JamesThis picture-book biography follows Marjory Stoneman Douglas as she writes about the Everglades and campaigns to protect its interconnected wetlands.Winning TitlesView book details
Mud to the Rescue! How Animals Use Mud to Thrive and SurviveTanya Konerman and Melanie CataldoAnimals around the world use mud for shelter, protection, cooling, travel, and survival in this illustrated look at ingenious adaptations.Winning TitlesLexile AD780LView book details
Nature Explained: A Family Guide to 20 Nature CyclesHelen Brown, illustrated by Claire ScullyIllustrated explanations of more than twenty natural cycles show how trees, leaves, flowers, seeds, fungi, and seasons continually change.Winning TitlesView book details
Next Time You See a SnowflakeEmily MorganAn invitation to look closely at snowflakes explains how they form, why they have six sides, and which atmospheric conditions shape them.Winning TitlesView book details
Our Plastic Problem: A Call for Global SolutionsMegan DurnfordThis global survey explains how plastic pollution affects communities and ecosystems and introduces practical efforts to reduce the damage.Winning TitlesLexile 1070LView book details
Pearls in the Sand: Protecting Sea Turtles in OaxacaBeatriz Gutiérrez HernándezCoastal communities in Oaxaca work to protect nesting sea turtles and their eggs in this account of conservation rooted in local knowledge.Winning TitlesView book details
Rachel Carson's Wonder-Filled World: How the Scientist, Writer, and Nature Lover Changed the Environmental MovementKate Hannigan, illustrated by Kate HickeyRachel Carson's lifelong attention to the natural world leads her to combine science and writing and help transform the environmental movement.Winning TitlesView book details
Rewriting the Rules: How Dr. Kathleen Friel Created New Possibilities for Brain Research and DisabilityDanna Zeiger, illustrated by Josée BisaillonKathleen Friel challenges assumptions about cerebral palsy, becomes a neuroscientist, and develops research that explores how injured brains form new connections.Winning TitlesFountas & Pinnell QView book details
Safe CrossingKari Percival, illustrated by Kari PercivalSafe Crossing is a nonfiction picture book written and illustrated by Kari Percival about citizen scientists who help migrating amphibians cross roads and work with local government to build a wildlife tunnel.Winning TitlesLexile 620LView book details
Salmon Run: An Epic Journey to the Ocean and BackAnnie ChenThe life cycle of salmon unfolds through their demanding migration from freshwater to the ocean and back to their spawning grounds.Winning TitlesView book details
The Secret Life of a Sea TurtleMaddalena BearziA sea turtle's life from hatching to adulthood reveals long migrations, ocean hazards, and the adaptations that support its survival.Winning TitlesView book details
The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women AstronautsLoren GrushThis young readers edition follows the first six American women astronauts as they train, fly missions, and challenge barriers at NASA.Winning TitlesView book details
Spark: Jim West's Electrifying Adventures in Creating the MicrophoneAinissa Ramirez, illustrated by Setor FiadzigbeyInventor Jim West experiments with sound and electricity on the way to co-creating the compact electret microphone used in everyday technology.Winning TitlesView book details
The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid World War II ArmyPenny Parker Klostermann, illustrated by Anne LambeletDuring World War II, Nan Songer raises spiders and supplies their exceptionally fine silk for precision instruments used by the military.Winning TitlesLexile 940LView book details
Stuck! The Story of La Brea Tar PitsJoyce Uglow, illustrated by Valerya MilovanovaThe science and history of the La Brea Tar Pits reveal how asphalt trapped ancient animals and preserved clues to Ice Age Los Angeles.Winning TitlesView book details
Sun Bird: The Amazing Journey of the Arctic TernLindsay MooreAn Arctic tern's pole-to-pole migration introduces the habitats, weather, dangers, and remarkable adaptations behind its annual journey.Winning TitlesView book details
The True and Lucky Life of a TurtleSy MontgomeryThe rescue and rehabilitation of a turtle named Lucky becomes a close look at turtle biology, recovery, and the people committed to wildlife care.Winning TitlesView book details
Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the UniverseAmy S. Hansen, Wanda Díaz Merced, illustrated by Rocío Arreola MendozaA picture book biography of astrophysicist Wanda Díaz Merced, who uses sonification to study astronomical data after losing her sight.Winning TitlesLexile 540LATOS 3.6View book details
Wonderfully Wild: Rewilding a School and CommunityJessica Stremer, illustrated by Josée MasseStudents and neighbors restore native plants and wildlife habitat around a school, showing how a community can take part in rewilding.Winning TitlesView book details