This is the inaugural year for the “Best STEM Books” list. Interest from readers and publishers alike has been “off the charts.” The impetus for the list is the profound difference between the purely-science books on the annual list of Outstanding Science Trade Books (jointly created by the National Science Teachers Association and the Children’s Book Council) and the titles we honor here.
On the surface, STEM appears to be a clear-cut acronym for content that draws on science, technology, engineering, and math. But the fact is that many thoughtful readers have their own unique notion of what STEM means. Notwithstanding those definitional differences, the panel of judges that selected the titles below chose them because each book reinforces STEM thinking— modeling innovation, demonstrating authentic problem-solving and assimilation of new ideas, all while exploring solutions that show progressive change or improvement.
Best STEM Books is a joint project of several organizations: the American Society for Engineering Education, the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, the National Science Teachers Association, the Society of Elementary Presidential Awardees, and the Children’s Book Council (ASEE, ITEEA, NSTA, SEAP, and CBC). The list provides knowledgeable recommendations to educators, librarians, parents, and caregivers about the best trade books with STEM content.
We invite you to explore this extraordinary list of Best STEM books.
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Each Tuesday is EducationTuesday here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts about educators and all things STEM. Adafruit supports our educators and loves to spread the good word about educational STEM innovations!