AAAS and Subaru are proud to announce the finalists for the 2022 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Young Adult 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 October.

The 2022 winner will be selected from among the following finalists:

• Chemistry for Breakfast: The Amazing Science of Everyday Life, by Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim. Illustrated by Claire Lenkova. Translated by Sarah Pybus. Greystone Books, 2021.

  In this quirky and surprising book, a quick-witted chemist reveals the amazing science behind everyday things (like breakfast and trips to the dentist) and not-so-everyday things (like space travel—and baby dinosaurs). Dr. Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim uses the same relatable style that makes her a popular YouTuber to explain scientific concepts everyone should know. Over the course of a single day, she shows us that amazing science happens everywhere—we just have to look for it. In the morning, her alarm prompts a deep dive into biological clocks and fight-or-flight responses, followed by a coffee with a side of heat conduction and states of matter. Mai continues with explainers of cell phone technology, food preservation, body odor, and the effects of alcohol. At the book’s end, she leaves readers with an appreciation of facts and a basic understanding of the science of everyday life. 

• Great Adaptations: Star-Nosed Moles, Electric Eels, and Other Tales of Evolution’s Mysteries Solved, by Kenneth Catania. Princeton University Press, 2020.

  In Great Adaptations, Kenneth Catania presents an entertaining and engaging look at some of nature’s most remarkable creatures. Telling the story of his biological detective work, Catania sheds light on the mysteries behind the behaviors of tentacled snakes, tiny shrews, zombie-making wasps, and more. He shows not only how studying these animals can provide deep insights into how life evolved, but also how scientific discovery can be filled with adventure and fun. Beginning with the star-nosed mole, Catania reveals what the creature’s nasal star is actually for, and what this tells us about how brains work. He explores how the deceptive hunting strategy of tentacled snakes leads prey straight to their mouths, how eels use electricity to control other animals, and why emerald jewel wasps make zombies out of cockroaches. Catania demonstrates the merits of approaching science with an open mind, considers the role played by citizen scientists, and illustrates that most animals have incredible, hidden abilities that defy our imagination. Examining some strange and spectacular creatures, Great Adaptations offers a wondrous journey into nature’s grand designs.

• The Loneliest Polar Bear: A True Story of Survival and Peril on the Edge of a Warming World, by Kale Williams. Crown, 2021.

  The Loneliest Polar Bear is the heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of Nora, a polar bear born at the Columbus Zoo, abandoned by her mother and precariously raised by zookeepers. Humans rarely get as close to a polar bear as Nora’s keepers got to their fuzzy charge. But the two species have long been intertwined. Tracing Nora’s lineage back to Alaska, Kale Williams reveals how her father, Nanuq, was orphaned when an Inupiat hunter killed his mother, leaving Nanuq to be sent to a zoo. That hunter, Gene Agnaboogok, now faces some of the same threats of climate change as these wild bears—diminishing sea ice and rising temperatures. Sweeping and tender, The Loneliest Polar Bear explores the fraught relationship humans have with the natural world, the exploitative and sinister causes of the environmental mess we find ourselves in, and how the fate of polar bears is not theirs alone.

• Ms. Adventure: My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava, and Life, by Jess Phoenix. Timber Press, 2021.

  Volcanologist and natural hazards expert Jess Phoenix has dedicated her life to scientific exploration. Her career path—hard earned in the still male-dominated world of science—has shoved her headlong into deep-sea submersibles, congressional races, glittering cocktail parties at Manhattan’s elite Explorers Club, and numerous pairs of Caterpillar work boots. It has also inspired her to devote her life to making science more inclusive and accessible. Ms. Adventure is Jess Phoenix’s riveting, rollicking personal account of her experiences across oceans and continents: a blend of personal memoir, daring adventure, and scientific exploration.

Winners will be announced in February 2022.

The finalists for the Children’s Science Picture Book, Middle Grades Science Book, and Hands-On Science Book categories were announced earlier in the week.