STEM Board Books for Little Ones
Babies and toddlers are naturally curious which is the perfect time to introduce them to all sorts of information, vocabulary, and background knowledge. While I don’t expect to drill babies and toddlers with flash cards and tests, I do think that introducing kids to information about the world around them through books is a valuable tool! I also think reading aloud to kids is one of the most simple and effective ways to help kids very early on when it comes to school readiness.
Introducing STEM Topics
These books know how to relate to the youngest of readers and do so with bright engaging photographs or illustrations, a few words per page and basic concepts about really high-level ideas. These are meant to have fun with, not to start training babies for their careers. You’ll even notice that most mention tongue-in-cheek text or introduce, explore, or share – words that specifically mean to keep things light. I don’t want someone reading this post accuse me or take away that babies need to be learning science before the age of one. They can, through books and activities that teach them cause and effect, mixing colors, helping to stir something in the kitchen (chemistry), etc. But honestly, learning STEM topics is secondary to experiencing and exploring the world around them.
I like books like these because they can be fun to read and share. Grab Botany for Babies and have your toddle help plant a veggie garden or some flower seeds. The next time you see stars in the sky or a butterfly floating through the air, connect it to one of the books below. This helps little ones to create those neural pathways between words on a page and physical objects. All of the books listed below are in series, so explore beyond just these titles. I’ve placed the series name in parentheses for you so that the next time you’re at your local library you can find even more great STEM board books for little ones.
Gift Ideas
These STEM books can also make great gifts, especially if you find one about a parents’ career or interest. How much fun would it be to find a book about engineering or math for parents who love those concepts?
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STEM Board Books for Little Ones
ABCs of the Solar System and Beyond! (Tinker Toddlers) by Dr. Dhoot
Look up at the night sky. What do you see?
From the award-winning Tinker Toddlers series, ABCs of The Solar System and Beyond will take your budding astronomer on an amazing space adventure as they learn their ABCs. From Astronauts and Black holes to Rockets and the Sun, this ABC planet picture book is packed with super-simple text, shapes, sizes, and bursting with color.
Readers will explore the eight planets in our solar system and other objects in space. With multi-level learning, this space book encourages early learning and reading. The colorful, beautiful, and visually stimulating illustrations promote the child’s sense of wonder, adventure, and curiosity as they learn the alphabet (and might stimulate your senses too)!
All About Me (Nat Geo Kids Look & Learn) by National Geographic
Filled with gorgeous photographs inspired by National Geographic Little Kids magazine, this book introduces curious children to the parts of the human body.
A Beautiful House for Birds (Storytelling Math) by Grace Lin
Olivia wants to make a colorful birdhouse for summer. She starts painting a pattern of stripes on the roof but then oops!—messes up. Now what? Explore patterns in this playful story about creative problem-solving.
Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education nonprofit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.
Botany for Babies (Baby 101) by Jonathan Litton, illustrated by Thomas Elliott
Welcome to Baby 101, where big subjects are tailored for little babies. Featuring simple words and bright and engaging illustrations, this introduction to botany includes information about trees, flowers, seeds, and much more. So don’t be late, because this is one class that babies won’t want to miss. Look for the surprise lift-the-flap ending!
Calculus for Babies (Baby University) by Chris Ferrie
Calculus for Babies introduces babies (and reminds grownups!) to the basic concepts behind calculus explained in an easy-to-understand and fun way!
Written by an expert, this is the perfect book for enlightening the next generation of geniuses. It’s never too early to become a mathematician or scientist!
Dinosaurs (Nerdy Babies) by Emmy Kastner
In Nerdy Babies: Dinosaurs, follow our intrepid babies into the Mesozoic Era. Experience the different shapes, sizes, and colors of the reptiles that roamed the Earth before us. Plus, learn about how dinosaurs evolved over millions of years until becoming extinct in this simple text written in question-and-answer format.
With bright artwork by Emmy Kastner, Nerdy Babies is a series that the very littlest nerds will want to return to again and again.
Stay curious. There’s more to learn about everything!
From Seed to Pumpkin (Hello World) by Jill McDonald
Kids can learn all about how pumpkins grow in this cheerful and informative board book—with colors, shapes, sizes, and super-simple facts. (“Prize-winning pumpkins can weigh as much as a rhinoceros!”)
Told in easy-to-understand terms alongside bright illustrations of seeds, sprouts, vines, flowers, and—best of all—pumpkin pies and jack-o-lanterns, this sturdy book makes learning easy for little ones and offers useful prompts to help adults engage with the reader on each page.
It’s a perfect way to bring nature and gardening into the busy world of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, where learning never stops.
Future Engineer (Future Baby) by Lori Alexander, illustrated by Allison Black
Engineers want to know how things work. And so does Baby! Does Baby have what it takes to become an engineer? That’s a positive! Discover all the incredible ways that prove Baby already has what it takes to become an engineer in whatever field they choose, be it electrical, mechanical, civil, or more! Includes lots of fun engineer facts to help foster curiosity and empower little ones to keep trying . . . and learning!
High Chair Chemistry (Big Science for Tiny Tots) by Jill Esbaum
Are you hungry? . . .
Let’s experiment.
Why wait for college when you can teach your toddler advanced science right now? After sterilizing your workstation, prepare to explore solids, which can be combined with liquids to form an optimal mixture. Now test your mixture. Eureka! Isn’t feeding time a total . . . gas? In a bright, graphic board book loaded with dry humor and comic timing, photos of happy, outrageously messy toddlers (and exhausted parents) complement a tongue-in-cheek running dialogue, interspersed with factual asides that define basic concepts of chemistry. So rest assured, with a high chair tray as a lab bench, your precocious little one can master chemistry multiple times a day!
How Does a Butterfly Grow? (Life Cycle Board Books) by DK
How Does a Butterfly Grow? will entertain and educate preschoolers. They’ll love finding out about each life cycle stage of the swallowtail butterfly, as they follow the fascinating pictures and listen to the fun and friendly text. Close-up photos show the mommy swallowtail laying her eggs, the tiny caterpillar hatching and growing, and the pretty butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. The fully grown swallowtail’s scaly, brightly patterned wings lift up from the page as fluttery flaps, and more flaps reveal three other caterpillars transforming into incredible butterflies and an amazing moth. Kids will also learn other butterfly facts, such as how they feed, how they spread pollen, and how they are similar and different to moths.
If/Then: A Simple STEM Introduction to Coding for Kids and Toddlers (I Can Code) by Vicky Fang and Jade Orlando
Written by an expert, I Can Code: IF/THEN uses simple text, colorful illustrations, and interactive flaps to help little ones discover the building blocks of coding all around them! As they follow along with an adorable story about cause and effect, they’ll explore fundamental concepts like conditions, rules, and logic―and have fun doing it.
Educators are saying every child needs to know the basics of coding―and this book will get them started as early as possible!
Structural Engineering (Baby Loves Science) by Ruth Spiro, illustrated by Irene Chan
Accurate enough to satisfy an expert, yet simple enough for baby, this clever board book explores the basics of building–from foundation to rooftop–and ties it all to baby’s world. Beautiful, visually stimulating illustrations complement age-appropriate language to encourage baby’s sense of wonder. Parents and caregivers may learn a thing or two, as well!
With tongue firmly in cheek, the Baby Loves Science series introduces highly intellectual science concepts to the littlest learners.
