Forces & Motion

A gorgeous story book for younger children with themes of perseverance and learning not to give up, as well as STEM and engineering. Jabari wishes to make a flying machine that can really soar through the air in the garden. Just like many of the best inventions, it doesn’t work properly on the first attempt and a little trial and error is needed to tweak the design. Jabari is disappointed, but with a bit of encouragement from his family to keep on trying, he soon begins to see success.

Young children will be able to relate to the frustration of models and designs not working properly and the challenge of not giving up. Jabari’s father and sister offer fantastic encouragement and we also see familiar family dynamics as Jabari is not sure that he wants to include his sister in his game, but the teamwork pays off in the end. Jabari becomes a good role model when he adapts the attitude to keep trying to reach his goal, and readers celebrate with him when his success is the fruit of his tenacity.

The book could inspire some STEM-themed projects, research into some of the scientific figures mentioned to simply discussions on the topic of perseverance.

Paper Planes is a heartwarming story that weaves together themes of friendship, hope, and the power of connection, even when far away. It beautifully captures the innocence and emotional depth of young children, showcasing their ability to forge meaningful bonds that transcend distance. The children in the story demonstrate that distance is not a barrier to connection when there is a shared understanding and emotional support. This theme resonates deeply with young readers, offering a sense of reassurance that they can maintain meaningful relationships, even when they are far apart.

The book is complemented by beautiful illustrations that not only enhance the story but also provide a visual representation of the emotions and connections the characters experience. The illustrations, paired with the descriptive text, create an immersive experience. The beauty of the artwork lies in its simplicity, as it allows children to interpret and imagine the world of the characters in their unique way.

In the classroom, this book has the potential to spark quality writing from children or to complement science learning about forces and motion, or testing paper planes. The children I used this book with created their own stories about friendship and served as a springboard for more creative projects, designing their own paper planes and writing letters or notes to friends. This would promote not only literacy but also social and emotional learning.

What a brilliant book! Ten-year-old Matilda has decided to build a rocket to travel to the moon and back. This story is jam-packed with facts about what is needed for each stage. From gravity and orbits to fuel calculations, you find out how previous space missions solved each aspect of space travel and the science behind them. And of course, all the key questions about space missions are answered like how do you poop in space?!

Matilda is a brilliant role model for women in STEM – intelligent, sparky and ambitious. Her narrative voice is strong and entertaining.

The mix of science and the history of the Apollo missions makes this book absolutely fascinating, and the illustrations, font styles and chatty style make it an easy read for Key Stage 2.

With brilliant links to STEM subjects, this would be a particularly good addition as a reading-for-pleasure choice alongside the Earth and Space topic in Science. It also shows ambition, resilience and the ability to research and plan before undertaking a task.

A new addition to the Questioneers series sees Ada Twist ask lots of questions about flight. How do things fly? Is it a mystery? A puzzle or a quest? Why are aeroplanes the shape they are? Why can’t birds fly as soon as they are born?

This full-colour, non-fiction, early reader series based on the Ada Twist, Scientist  series is going to be so popular in the classroom for KS1 and lower Ks2. With age appropriate text, real images and diagrams, who wouldn’t want to read and learn more?

Discover everything there is to know about flight, including about creatures that fly and the history of aircraft. Curiosity has never been so easy to access and so brilliantly documented. I LOVE it and so will my students.

The Fabulous Flyer is part of Terry Deary’s fantastic series of short, fictional chapter books set in different historical periods.

The Fabulous Flyer tells the story of Henri Giffard and his attempt to make the first ever powered flying machine in 1852, with the help of urchin girl Marie. He plans to fly the machine in front of a crowd of thousands.  The relationship between Marie and Mr Gifford is quite touching, and it always adds interest to a story when a villain is featured too.

Interestingly, at the back of the book, there is a section entitled ‘True History’ which also gives you a little more background information and facts on the subject of the book, including the development of flight during the Victorian period.

Amy thinks the world of her Dad, but ever since the accident happened, Amy’s Dad can’t bear to see Amy. Following a car accident, in which Amy’s Dad was driving the car, Amy is left in a wheelchair but she is determined to prove to him that being in a wheelchair doesn’t stop her from doing anything and, with the help of her friend and inventor Rahul, she might just do it. The stakes have never been higher!

Following on the back of the success of AniMalcom, The Person Controller, Birthday Boy and The Parent Agency, Baddiel whips up a fun adventure that explores the hopes and dreams of car-obsessed Amy Taylor. Tricky subjects such as life-changing accidents, divorce, sibling and evolving parent-child relationships are all handled sensitively, with Baddiel’s recognisable brand of sharp humour.

Steven Lenton’s illustrations capture each stage of the story perfectly. A real page-turner, each of the characters of the book balance and enrich the story, even poking light-hearted fun at those glued to their technology or struggling to keep up with it.

This book will be relished individually by readers in KS2, appealing to both girls and boys alike, and would also make fun, upbeat class read at the end of the day.

This 60 page book is bursting with accessible information! A great read, which will certainly hook children into reading lots of fascinating science information.

This non-fiction book covers a wide range of topics covered throughout the Science National Curriculum to engage and support children with new learning. This colourful book will engage readers from age 7 and beyond. Although set out in a fun and light-hearted comic strip layout the book contains lots of science vocabulary with visuals to support understanding and recognises famous scientists for their work.

Each double-page spread covers the topic interestingly and succinctly to ensure children will not be overfaced with information. This would be great to complete as a shared read at the start of a science lesson in class for teachers too!

Part of a series this physics book features short, funny comic strips that explain a process or aspect of science. Around the strips, diagrams and panels further expand on the information for the topic. They are a fantastic way to engage children with science and each page is an excellent learning tool for parents and teachers

This incredibly visual book is partly a history of the development of all things wheels around the world, and partly a guide to all types of vehicles from bikes to emergency vehicles.

It starts with the Stone Age and ends with predictions for future travel and in between, each and every way a human has moved with the aid of a wheel is described. Each double spread focuses on one aspect of travel, for example, ‘taxis’, and is full of drawings, surrounded by short facts, many puns, comments, questions and even instructions. Any reader young or old will revisit pages and discover something new each time such as when the first motorcycle was built or what spoilers do.

This book is certainly fun: there are drawings of animals as users of the vehicles with many different expressions and quotes and jokes, and the author has fun with the visuals – a chicken being chased by a snake which means the chicken tows a cart more quickly, for example! Although this book could be enjoyed independently by any age, it lends itself beautifully as a book to share and dip into and it is likely that plenty of discussion will arise.

There is so much to look at that this transport-themed book will most likely remain on a favourite browsing choice for some time.

Fran Scott, a science presenter known from Lego Masters and Absolute Genius, delivers a superb STEM book in How to Build a Racing Car. This information and instructional book not only explores the intricate science behind Formula 1 vehicles but also doubles as a practical, step-by-step guide for constructing your very own air-powered model car.

Children with an interest in transport or engineering will be quick to select this book from the shelf. The book’s clear explanations and supporting illustrations expertly detail the forces involved and the engineering challenges faced by F1 designers.

This colourful guide is a fantastic reading choice for racing enthusiasts or aspiring engineers, blending theoretical knowledge with exciting hands-on application.