UKH

I'm trying to find good factual books for a ten year old and seem to have discovered a gap. Even though there's plenty of whizz bang stinky science/totally amazing facts style books, there's very little long form non-fiction out there.

I'm after the sort of good science and nature writing I enjoy but with language and treatment of concepts more suitable for a younger audience.

Do you good folk of UKC have any recommendations - even out of print books that you enjoyed in your own childhood?

In reply to pasbury:

Try The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins.

In reply to pasbury:

No doubt long out of print but at that age I enjoyed some books by Patrick Moore about astronomy written for kids

In reply to pasbury:

I was going to suggest "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. It turns out there is a childrens version titled "A Really Short History of Nearly Everything"

In reply to Paul Robertson:
If that exists then good call.

In reply to pasbury:

I read and loved The Time and Space of Uncle Albert and Black Holes and Uncle Albert when I was a kid. An accessible introduction to special and general relativity, in the form of a story about a series of thought-experiments made real.

In reply to pasbury:
I may end up repeatedly posting here as I gradually remember more books, and they'll be more in the area of non fiction rather than just science, but I think they will be relevant:

Various Dorling Kindersley Books (eyewitness guides?) - I remember really enjoying a few of these. I think they also published something called 'The Visual Dictionary' which was my favourite book as a child. Had concise info on everything, from art movements to the anatomy of animals, lots of science and engineering too. That was very well loved that book! Wish I still had one.

Then there were the 'horrible histories' which were good in themselves for history but they had an associated series of science and maths: 'horrible science' and 'murderous maths' which were really good, fun books, I learnt a lot in those. The 'dead famous' series from the same publisher (I think, certainly the same illustrations) were also good. I read and reread the one about Einstien, it was amazing. You almost get a history of modern physics as well as some good understanding into a lot of the actual physics. Again, easy reading, humourous and fun! I think there was a Newton one too which may also be good.

A great history book I think designed for kids in their early teens was 'Written in Blood' by Beverly MacDonald. Quite gory in places, might be worth reading it with him (or reading ahead of him, I think there are some references to genocide, murder, rape etc, may need to be explained) - really is a great book though.

Hope this helps you. Would be interesting to see if these books are still around! Could be worth going and asking in your library too.

In reply to pasbury:

Thinking a little more, when kids my sister & I had several books in the I spy and Observer book of... series, and I often see some of these in Oxfam & other second hand book shops - might be worth a look

In reply to pasbury:

Could you read Sophie's World to a ten year old? It's full of explained ideas about how we can choose to view and think about the world, or not to, depending on whether you just want to look outside the everyday.

In reply to pasbury:

Stephen Hawking's George's Secret Key to the Universe and three other books are good for some of it.

The Philosophy Files by amateur alpinist Stephen Law good for a bit of philosophy.

There's also Professor P and the Jurassic Coast trilogy for paleontology - good for a holiday to Portland.

In reply to pasbury:

It might be 84 years old, but Newnes Pictorial Knowledge is a goldmine, and its from an era when the default assumption was that children were smart and capable, and didn't need every single thing to be gee-whiz-ified.

I have a soft spot for Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopaedia as well, although it's got a rather more British Empire centric politics baked in to the way it presents the world.

In reply to wintertree:
I spent many many hours poring over the Children's Encyclopaedia as a child. I think the politics was obviously prehistoric even then.


Then I progressed to Newnes Practical Wireless encyclopaedia for 1940, found on a family holiday in Devon in the 70s.

In reply to Doug:
You reminded me, I found my observers book of astronomy the other day, bought for a few shillings way back when. Loved the observers books.

In reply to pasbury:

I enjoyed Gerald Durrell's books but was probably older than 10 - I loved My Family and other Animals