Finalists for 2020 Middle Grades Science Book Award Announced

AAAS and Subaru are proud to announce the finalists for the 2020 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Middle Grades Science Book category. The Prize celebrates outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults and is meant to encourage the writing and publishing of high-quality science books for all ages. Longlists for all four categories were announced in September.

The 2020 winner will be selected from among the following finalists.

• Eye Spy: Wild Ways Animals See the World, by Guillaume Duprat. What on Earth Books, 2018.

  Eye Spy takes children on a whirlwind tour of how eyes work and lets them lift-the-flaps to find out how animals as different as dogs, owls, and chameleons see the same scene.

• Kid Scientists: True Tales of Childhood from Science Superstars, by David Stabler. Illustrated by Anoosha Syed. Quirk Books, 2018.

  Funny and totally true childhood biographies and full-color illustrations tell tales from the challenging yet defining growing-up years of Albert Einstein, Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, and 12 other brilliant scientists.

• Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night, by Mark Wilson. Storey Publishing, 2019.

  From Hedwig, the Snowy Owl of Harry Potter fame, to Winnie-the-Pooh’s beloved friend Owl, this wide-eyed bird of the night has found its way into young hearts and imaginations everywhere. Owling invites young readers into the world of real-life owls, to learn about their fascinating behaviors and abilities.

• Planetarium, by Raman Prinja. Illustrated by Chris Wormell. Big Picture Press, 2019.

  Step inside the pages of this beautiful book to discover galleries of galactic matter, expertly curated to bring you the experience of a fascinating exhibition in the comfort of your own home. Planetarium features all aspects of space, from the sun and our solar system to the lives of stars, the Milky Way, and the universe beyond.

AAAS will provide resources based the 2020 finalists, and once again the books will be offered to schools across the country as part of the Subaru Loves Learning initiative. Through this partnership between AAAS and Subaru, more than 91,000 books were donated in 2019.

Winners will be announced in January and awarded at the 2020 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, W.A., February 13-16, 2020.

The finalists for the Children’s Science Picture Book category was announced earlier in the week.