Timely Take-Aways for Life-Long Learning: Popular Science Topics

Timely Take-Aways for Life-Long Learning
Popular Science Topics

New works of popular science nonfiction are examining fascinating scientific themes through entertaining stories. Educators will find these useful in identifying timely examples for their classrooms.

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
Mary Roach, Sep 2021, W.W. Norton & Company
Themes: science, social science, nature, biology, philosophy, wildlife

FUZZ explores the science of human-wildlife interaction and conflict. Combining the disciplines of human behavior and wildlife biology, Roach shares fascinating and often humorous examples of the challenges of human-nature coexistence.

Take-aways: Roach’s conversational style is always popular with young adults and educators alike. From connections with bears and elephants to monkeys and trees, each chapter shares a short, engaging narrative that helps readers understand the complex relationships between nature and humans.

Blue: In Search of Nature’s Rarest Color
Kai Kupferschmidt, Jul 2021, The Experiment, an imprint of Workman
Themes: science, physics, optics, light, color

BLUE take readers on an adventure around to globe to identify examples of this rare color in minerals, animals, and plants. It also examines the science behind the color blue and its impact on human life.

Take-aways: Occurring less frequently in nature than other colors, blue is a color associated with both science and social science topics.

Pump: A Natural History of the Heart
Bill Schutt, Sep 2021, Algonquin Books, an imprint of Workman
Themes: science, life science, biology, circulation, heart

PUMP shares the evolutionary history of circulation and specifically the heart. Weaving together scientific observations with cultural connections, Schutt examines the history of this organ through amazing stories and examples.

Take-aways: Use examples from PUMP to help youth see how our understanding of the circulatory system has evolved over time.

Weirdness!: What Fake Science and the Paranormal Tell Us About the Nature of Science
Taner Edis, Nov 2021, Pitchstone Publishing, Independent Publishers Group
Themes: science, scientific theory, pseudo-science, paranormal


WEIRDNESS! celebrates the importance of science in a world of fake news, social media, and conspiracy theories. Edis describes the critical role of science, while exploring the bizarre beliefs that have become prevalent in today’s society.

Take-aways: Use Edis’ examples to jumpstart meaningful discussions about the importance of science and need to understand the “weirdness” in our world.

Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb