STEM Books for Children and Young Adults

This list aims to provide books recommended by the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) for children and young adults which are available through the Sussex County Library System.

Updated January 5, 2026
S
Sussex County Library System (NJ)
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Before colors : where pigments and dyes come from
Pimentel, Annette Bay
Paper Book
Colors don't come out of nothing. They always start somewhere . . . With something . . . With someone.
The enigma girls : how ten teenagers broke ciphers, kept secrets, and helped win World War II
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. With numerous starred reviews and accolades, from award-winning author Candace Fleming, comes the powerful and fascinating story of the brave and dedicated young women who helped turn the tides of World War II for the Allies, with their hard work and...
Hidden systems water, electricity, the internet, and the secrets behind the systems we use every day
Nott, Dan
Paper Book
We use water, electricity, and the internet every day--but how do they actually work? And what's the plan to keep them running for years to come? This nonfiction science graphic novel takes readers on a journey from how the most essential systems were developed to how they are implemented in our...
How to explain robotics to a grown-up
Spiro, Ruth
Paper Book
The best-selling author of the Baby Loves Science series levels up with this playful STEM picture book introducing kids-and grown-ups-to the robotics world. Do you want to know a secret? Sometimes grown-ups need YOU to explain things to THEM. Like robotics! In this...
Masked hero : how Wu Lien-teh invented the mask that ended an epidemic
Liu, Shan Woo
Paper Book
"More than a hundred years before Covid, a deadly pneumonic plague threatened to sweep through Northeast China. Medical experts were summoned to help contain it--among them Wu Lien-teh, who had overcome hurdles to be a doctor since his boyhood in Malaysia. Unlike others, Dr. Wu deduced the disease...
Wildlife crossings: protecting animal pathways around the world
Barr, Catherine.
Paper Book
Zero! the number that almost wasn't
Albee, Sarah
Paper Book
How did math work before zero existed? A STEM nonfiction book that unpacks a fascinating history of a number we can't imagine our current world without. From place value to being created and destroyed before being created again, zero has had quite a journey. Respected children's...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.