2021 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize Winners Announced

Stories covering a chemist’s fight to save the environment, the communication network of trees, earthworm activities for budding naturalists, and a look at how our humanity is tied to the materials we create have earned the 2021 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books.

The winners exemplify outstanding and engaging science writing and illustration for young readers. Sponsored by Subaru of America, the award program, which is now celebrating its 16th year, is intended to encourage the creation of science books that can help readers of all age groups better understand and appreciate science. Awards are given in four categories: children’s science picture book, middle grades science book, young adult science book and hands-on science book. The prizes are presented to the authors, except in the case of the picture book award, which is given to both the author and the illustrator.

Judged by panels of librarians, scientists and educators, the winning works feature accurate science and cannot perpetuate misconceptions or stereotypes. The criteria also require that each book be age-appropriate: For the youngest readers, a winning picture book should pique their curiosity about the natural world around them; for older readers, books should encourage the discussion and understanding of scientific ideas. Hands-on science books for any age must include inquiry-based activities that encourage problem-solving skills.

This year’s winners receive a cash prize and a commemorative plaque.

The Winners:

Children’s Science Picture Book:

Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet, by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Teresa Martínez. Charlesbridge, 2019.

Growing up in Mexico City, Mario Molina was a curious boy who studied hidden worlds through a microscope. As a young man in California in the 1980s, he discovered that CFCs, used in millions of refrigerators and spray cans, were tearing a hole in the earth's protective ozone layer. Mario knew the world had to be warned–and quickly. Today, Mario is a Nobel laureate and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His inspiring story shines a ray of hope on the fight against global warming.

Elizabeth Rusch is an award-winning freelance writer and former managing editor of Teacher magazine. Her first children’s book, Generation Fix, was a Smithsonian Notable Children’s Book and a finalist for the IRA’s Children’s Book Award. Will It Blow? was named a Natural History Best Book and a Washington Reads Pick. 

Teresa Martínez was born in Mexico. When she was young, she was very shy, and drawing helped her connect with other children at school. When she grew up, she studied graphic design and started illustrating picture books. Now Teresa lives in Puerto Vallarta, drawing for kids as she did during her school days, and that makes her happy.

Middle Grades Science Book:

Can You Hear the Trees Talking?: Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest, by Peter Wohlleben. Translated by Shelley Tanaka. Greystone Books, 2019.

Discover the secret life of trees with this nature and science book for kids: Can You Hear the Trees Talking? shares the mysteries and magic of the forest with young readers, revealing what trees feel, how they communicate, and the ways trees take care of their families. The author of The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben, tells kids about the forest internet, aphids who keep ants as pets, nature's water filters, and more fascinating things that happen under the canopy.

Featuring simple activities kids can try on their own or with parents, along with quizzes, photographs, and more. This engaging and visually stunning book encourages at-home learning and fun as kids discover the wonder of the natural world outside their windows.

Peter Wohlleben is the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees and its follow-ups The Inner Life of Animals and The Secret Wisdom of Nature. Peter lives in Germany next to a big, magical forest.

Hands-on Science Book:

This is a Book to Read with a Worm, by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen, illustrated by Margaret McCartney. Charlesbridge, 2020.

If you can find a worm, you can be a scientist! Foster a love of animals and science with this charming activity guide for finding and observing earthworms. Hands-on experiments help young biologists answer questions like "Which end is which?" and "Do worms make noise?" Insider tips encourage readers to think like a scientist and handle living things with care. Equally entertaining with or without a worm friend.

Jodi Wheeler-Toppen is a science teacher and science writer with a passion for helping young people become confident science readers and writers. Her many books for curious kids include Cat Science Unleashed, Dog Science Unleashed, Edible Science, Recycled Science, and the Our Amazing Senses series. Jodi does NSTA professional development workshops and author visits across the country.

Young Adult Science Book:

The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another, by Ainissa Ramirez. MIT Press, 2020.

In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions—clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips—and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes, among other things, how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway's writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid's cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies.

Ainissa Ramirez is a materials scientist and sought-after public speaker and science communicator. A Brown and Stanford graduate, she has worked as a research scientist at Bell Labs and held academic positions at Yale University and MIT. She has written for Time, Scientific American, the American Scientist, and Forbes, and makes regular appearances on PBS's SciTech Now.

To learn more, check out the AAAS announcement and find reviews of the books in Science. Nominations for the 2022 awards will open this spring.