CurriConnects Book List - STEM
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STEM
STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math - is a fast-growing field. This integrated approach prepares students for a technology-driven modern world. STEM emphasizes problem-solving, creative thinking, and collaboration. This carefully curated collection of STEM books spans kindergarten through adult, offering young readers engaging stories that bring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to life. From picture books that introduce basic scientific concepts to advanced texts that challenge high school students, these selections inspire curiosity, critical thinking, and a lifelong love of discovery across all STEM disciplines.
For more activities and resources, view TeachersFirst Special Topic Collections including Women in STEM and STEM-STEAM-STREAM, the perfect complements to these independent reading selections.
Picture Books
Ada Twist, Scientist - Andrea Beatty, (978-1419721373), Fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 550
Ada has questions about the world around her. She sets out to answer her questions through experiments. Some work and some make a mess, but Ada never gives up.
Rosie Revere, Engineer - Andrea Beatty, (978-1419708459), Fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 780
Rosie wants to be an inventor, but her creations continue to fail. A visit from her great-great-aunt Rose inspires her to learn from her mistakes and pursue her dreams.
A Girl Can Build Anything - e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, (978-0593463741), Non-fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 290
This book explores the concept that if you dream it, you can achieve it.
Jabari Tries - Gaia Cornwall, (978-1536207163), Fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 490
Jabari wants to build a flying machine. He tries and fails. His sister, Nika, wants to help him, but he only sees her as a distraction. With Dad and Nika's support, he perseveres.
Perfect Square - Michael Hall, (978-0061915130), Fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 470
A perfect square changes into new things every day.
The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London's Poop Pollution Problem - Colleen Paeff, (978-1534449299), Non-fiction
Interest level: K-3, Lexile: 950
In 1858, Joseph Bazalgette solved London's pollution problem in the Thames.
Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer - Traci Sorrell, (978-1541579149), Non-fiction
Interest level: 2-5, Lexile: 940
Mary Golda Ross, of the Cherokee Nation, became the first female engineer at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
Fairy Science - Ashley Spires, (978-0525581420), Fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 540
Esther is the only fairy in Pixieville who does not believe in magic. She believes in science. She teaches the other fairies that science can solve problems.
If I Built a Car - Chris Van Dusen, (978-0142408254), Fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 720
Jack creates the perfect car. He and his dad take the car on a wild test drive.
Galimoto - Karen Lynn Williams , (978-0688109912), Fiction
Interest level: K-2, Lexile: 620
Kondi is determined to make a toy out of wires. His brother laughs at him, but he spends the day collecting supplies, and the toy is ready for the village children by nightfall.
Middle Grade Books
See You in the Cosmos - Jack Cheng, (978-0399186387), Fiction
Interest level: 5-7, Lexile: 1120
Alex is fascinated with science, space, and astronomer Carl Sagan. Throughout his travels, he uses his iPod to record his life on Earth. He learns about his world, his family, and himself.
Virus Hunters: How Science Protects People When Outbreaks and Pandemics Strike - Amy Cherrix, (978-0063069541), Non-fiction
Interest level: 3-7
Epidemiologists are scientists who study diseases. These scientists act as detectives as they attempt to determine the origins of diseases and develop effective strategies to combat them.
The Absolute Value of Mike - Katherine Erskine, (978-0142421017), Fiction
Interest level: 5-9, Lexile: 610
Mike and his dad speak different languages - Mike speaks English and his dad speaks math. When his dad sends him to work on a project with family in Pennsylvania, Mike sees it as an opportunity to learn to connect with his dad. His project takes a different turn when the town comes together to adopt a boy from Romania, and Mike learns about much more than the engineering that he was expecting.
The Science of Breakable Things - Tae Keller, (978-1524715694), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7, Lexile: 840
Natalie's mother is a botanist who has lost her love for flowers and life. Natalie enters an egg drop STEM competition in the hopes that she can use the prize money to help her mom find her joy again.
Scene of the Crime: Tracking Down Criminals with Forensic Science - HP Newquist, (978-0451476463), Non-fiction
Interest level: 5-7, Lexile: 1040
This book explores forensic science through the setting of a crime scene. It focuses on both current scientific research and historical context.
Lost in Outer Space: The Incredible Journey of Apollo 13 - Tod Olson, (978-0545928151), Non-fiction
Interest level: 3-7
This book tells the incredible true story of the doomed Apollo 13 moon mission that nearly ended in disaster when an explosion ripped through Jim Lovell's spacecraft 200,000 miles from Earth.
Solving for M - Jennifer Swender, (978-1101932902), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7, Lexile: 730
Mika loves to draw. As she begins fifth grade, she is put in a different class from her best friend and learns that art is no longer part of the curriculum. She copes by filling her math journal with drawings to help work through her feelings.
The Friendship Experiment - Erin Teagan, (978-1328911254), Fiction
Interest level: 5-7, Lexile: 740
Madaline is starting middle school and is a budding scientist. She would prefer to help her dad with his research. When her friends learn what she has been writing in her research notebook, she must learn to navigate relationships as well as science.
The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin - Elinor Teele, (978-0062345110), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7
John Coggin is creating an invention that nobody else has ever attempted before. He hopes that the invention will save him from his fate as a partner in the family coffin business.
A Rover's Story - Jasmine Warga, (978-0063113930), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7, Lexile: 580
Resilience is a Mars rover that wants to be the best it can be. It was built to collect and transmit data, but it starts to develop human emotions and attachment. It is launched to Mars and begins to realize that the mission and the surroundings are challenging. With millions of people watching back on Earth, Resilience has to live up to its name.
Young Adult Books (ages 12-18; Grades 7 and up)
Glow - Megan Bryant, (978-0807529652), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 580
Lydia lands a coveted job in the factory painting luminous watch dials for soldiers during World War I. A century later, Julie finds a painting at a thrift store that glows in the night. Julie becomes obsessed with the Radium Girls, and this obsession could put her and her loved ones at risk.
The Code for Love and Heartbreak - Jillian Cantor, (978-1335090591), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12
Emma is a math genius and a coding phenom. She and her coding club co-president, George, create a matchmaking app. George is not comfortable with the app, but everything is working perfectly...until perfectly matched couples start breaking up.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Neil deGrasse Tyson, (978-0393609394), Non-fiction
Interest level: 8-12
Neil deGrasse Tyson makes complex, high-level physics concepts accessible to the common reader. The text covers essential cosmic concepts from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe, all presented in accessible, bite-sized chapters for busy readers.
Don't Turn Around - Michelle Gagnon, (978-0062102904), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 710
Noa is alone and uses her hacking skills to stay that way. When she unexpectedly wakes up in a warehouse attached to an IV, she teams up with a rich hacker to reclaim her anonymity.
Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting it Done - Andrea Gonzales, (978-0062472472), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 1030
Andy and Sophia create a video game that takes them from average teenagers to technology queens. As they navigate their newfound stardom, they learn about the women who blazed the trail for them and learn more about themselves.
Lab Girl: A Memoir - Hope Jahren, (978-1101873724), Non-fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 1240
Hope Jahren shares her journey from tinkering in her father's lab in Minnesota to respected geobiologist.
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women - Kate Moore, (978-1492650959), Non-fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 980
Jobs for young women in radium factories were highly sought after until the dangers of the work were exposed. The factory owners refused to acknowledge the risk and damage, setting up a fight for workers' rights.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot, (978-1400052172), Non-fiction
Interest level: 9-12, Lexile: 1140
Southern tobacco farmer Henrietta Lacks lived a relatively unknown life. Unbeknownst to her survivors, the cells taken without her knowledge have been used by scientists for over 60 years in numerous studies that have significantly impacted the lives and health of people worldwide.
The Gravity of Us - Phil Stamper, (978-1547605682), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12
Cal wants a job in journalism. He is racking up followers when his father is chosen for a mission to Mars with NASA. Cal has to leave his life in New York and move with his family to Houston. He makes friends with Leon, whose mother is also on the mission. The closer they get to blastoff, the more secrets start to emerge. Cal uses his background in journalism to find the truth.
If You, Then Me - Yvonne Woon, (978-0063008663), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12
Xia is juggling many challenges - she has created an AI app, she's starting a new job, she's clashing with her nemesis, and she has to make life-changing decisions. The right decision could change her life, while the wrong one could ruin it.