The shortlist for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize in 2013

Publishers across the UK submitted their best recent books that communicate science to young people. An adult shortlisting panel has narrowed down the choice to a shortlist of six books.

The winning book will be selected entirely by groups of young people from schools and youth groups around the UK. These groups together form a judging panel that looks at all the shortlisted books and chooses a winner.

The six books shortlisted by the shortlisting panel for 2013 are:

Build the human body
by Richard Walker (Templar)

The judges said: “A hands on, fun kit to help learn about the human body, accompanied by a well-illustrated, concise, clear book.”

Buzzing!
by Anneliese Emmans Dean (Brambleby Books Ltd)

The judges said: “This book is buzzing with interesting science facts and wonderful poetry. Each page features a different British minibeast that you might find in your back garden, with a funny poem about them.”

Discover more: The elements
by by Dan Green (Scholastic Children’s Books)

The judges said: “A good starting point for learning about the topic and full of rocking chemistry! Starting with what elements are and where they come from, the book goes through each element in turn with facts about their discovery and the science about how they impact our everyday lives.”

Don’t Flush: Lifting the Lid on the Science of Poo and Wee
by Richard Platt, Mary Platt, John Kelly (Kingfisher – An imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books)

The judges said: “A light-hearted but informative look at the science behind the use of poo and wee throughout history to build houses, wash and dye our clothes, fertilize crops, treat illnesses, solve crimes, control pollution and create fuel, energy and explosives. A perfectly disgusting book: Kids will love it!”

Human Body Factory
by Dan Green (Kingfisher – An imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books)

The judges said: “This book is intricately illustrated with tiny factory workers who explain how each part of the body works. It is the ‘Where’s Wally?’ of the human body; you keep noticing comic little details such as the workers in dinghies mixing gastric juices in the stomach with a giant whisk! As well as being fun, we were also impressed by the level of accurate scientific detail.

Look inside space
by Rob Lloyd Jones (Usborne Publishing)

The judges said: “A fantastically interactive book for younger children. Full of flaps to lift (and flaps under flaps) that reveal amazing facts about space!”

The shortlisting panel are:

Professor John Goodby FRS – Chemist at the University of York researching liquid crystals
Dr Jenny Read – University Research Fellow at the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University researching visual perception
Grrlscientist – an evolutionary biologist, science writer and blogger
Shazia Lydon – Assistant Headteacher at Challney High School For Boys, Luton
Simon Watt – Science communicator and presenter of Inside Nature’s Giants on Channel 4
via Shortlist – Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize | Royal Society.

The winner will not be announced till 11th November 2013.