Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Topic: Science, Maths and Computing

Here at BooksForTopics HQ we are big fans of Lucy Cousins’ bright and colourful artwork. This simple rhyming text showcases a whole host of imaginative fish in all their splendour, including ele-fish, eye fish and curly-wurly fish! This is a great book to get imaginations whirring in EYFS.

Tiddler is a fish who is always late for school. Every day he arrives with a different tall story about why he is not there on time, until one day he finds himself caught up in a big adventure that will make him very, very late indeed! A fun, rhyming story with a repeated refrain.

This charming concertina book follows the journey of a little submersible on a voyage beneath the waves, down into the deep dark ocean and back again. Folding out to nearly 2.5 metres, children can look at all the different things the sub sees on its way, as it travels past a shipwreck, through a coral reef, near to a pod of orcas hunting for their lunch, close to a leatherback turtle feasting on jellyfish, and past some rather strange deep-sea fish. Playful text guides the journey, providing a fun shared experience and a conversation starter for parents and young children.

The reverse side of the concertina features spot illustrations picked out from the main scene, with more expansive information about submarines, ocean life and the dangers it is facing.

Part of the popular ‘One Day on our Blue Planet’ series, this beautifully illustrated picture book charts the wildlife in the ocean across the course of a whole day. Informative and visually appealing with accessible text, this non-fiction series is a winner for KS1 classrooms.

This impressive hardback is the closest thing you can get to a museum in book form. Suited to more mature readers in KS2, the book exhibits aspects of marine biology, diverse ocean habitats and environmental conservation. This is a beautiful large-sized non-fiction with full-page colour illustrations to pore over and plenty of scientific detail and vocabulary to learn. Oceanarium is a book to treasure and for readers who want even more, there’s an accompanying activity book available too.

This large-sized informative compendium about ocean life is the kind of non-fiction that children like to come back to again and again to pore over its pages.

Each double-page spread dives into a different sea-themed question, such as ‘Are jellyfish made of jelly?’ or ‘Why do crabs run sideways?’.

There is never too much text on each page, but what you find is accessible chunks of information cleverly interspersed into each ocean scene. The illustrations are stunning and come together to make wonderful spreads that serve as a treasure trove of visual delights for young eyes, as text and pictures work together to build an understanding of underwater habitats and the life they hold.

This is a wonderful picturebook from Simon Bartram, author of the very popular ‘Man on the Moon’. The story is told in a diary format and it details the adventures of Dougal as he discovers the world of Atlantis. The text is accompanied with appealing illustrations showcasing the spectacular diversity of ocean life.

This vibrant picture book captures the incredible kaleidoscope of colour belonging to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Terry is NOT a fancy fish – he’s humdrum-coloured, which means the spectacular tropical fish don’t notice him. So, Terry uses seaweed and bits and bobs to construct a rainbow tail. Now the tropical fish are desperate to play with Terry….that is until a big hungry eel arrives looking for dinner! This funny picturebook with brilliant dialogue is a tropical treat.

This is not your average book about beasts! Rather than separating out animals into families, it hones-in on their unusual features, from shiny shells to fantastic fins. It’s a super-eclectic introduction to marine biology that will make you smile.

A boy and his grandfather watch as a baby seal is born on the rocks near their home and from that day a special friendship is created between them. Despite his disability, the boy is a keen surfer, and he enjoys many afternoons surfing with the seals. One day, however, he gets into trouble in rough seas, and the young seal saves him. Their friendship brings happiness and meaning at the important stages of the boy’s life

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