Love of Science

KS3 Science Reading List 

Reading offers numerous advantages that extend beyond enhancing your language and writing abilities. Studies indicate that individuals who regularly immerse themselves in books enjoy increased general knowledge, enhanced memory skills due to improved focus and concentration, heightened analytical abilities, and reduced stress levels. For many, reading provides an opportunity to delve into genres or subjects that pique their intellectual curiosity. The Science Department's recommended books empower students to deepen their understanding beyond the classroom curriculum, inspiring the next wave of scientists, engineers and innovators. 

General Science 

• How to win a Nobel prize: Barry Marshall 

• The Science Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained: Dan Green, DK (publisher) 

• What If? Serious Scientific Answer to Absurd Hypothetical Questions: Randall Munroe 

• A really short history of nearly everything: Bill Bryson 

• Archimedes and the Door of Science: Jeanne Bendick 

Biology 

• Kay’s anatomy: a complete and disgusting guide to the human body Adam Kay  

• The Biology Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained: DK (publisher)  

• Florence Nightingale - The Courageous Life of the Legendary Nurse: Catherine Reef  

• The Double Helix: James Watson  

• On the origin of species: Charles Darwin 

• Your Brilliant Body (Operation Ouch!): Chris van Tulleken & Xand van Tulleken 

• Life on Earth: David Attenborough 

• All About Biology (Big Questions): Robert Winston 

• Deadly Detectives - Top Tips to Track Wildlife: Steve Backshall 

• Galen and the Gateway to Medicine: Jeanne Bendick 

Chemistry 

• Horrible Science - Chemical Chaos: Nick Arnold and Tony de Saulles  

• The Chemistry Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained: DK (publisher)  

• Blood, Bullets, and Bones - The Story of Forensic Science from Sherlock Holmes to DNA: Bridget Heos  

• Periodic Tales - The Curious Lives of the Elements: Hugh Aldersey-Williams  

• The disappearing spoon: Sam Kean 

• The Periodic Table Book - A Visual Encyclopedia of the Elements: DK (publisher) 

• All About Chemistry (Big Questions): Robert Winston 

Physics 

• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind - Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope: William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer 

• Unlocking the Universe: Stephen and Lucy Hawking  

• The Physics Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained: Jim Al-Khalili  

• Marie Curie And Her Daughters: Imogen and Isabel Greenberg  

• We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe: Jorge Cham  

• Newton: Peter Ackroyd 

• Ground Control to Major Tim: Clive Gifford 

• Beyond the Sky and the Universe: Dara O’Briain 

• Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry: Neil deGrasse Tyson 

• All About Physics (Big Questions): Richard Hammand 

• On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein: Jennifer Berne & Vladimir Radunsky 

• The Space Race: John Hamilton 

Adventure 

• 8000 metres climbing the world's highest mountains: Alan Hinkes 

• Mud, Sweat and Tears: Bear Grylls 

• The Crocodile Hunter - The Incredible Life and Adventures of Steve and Terri Irwin 

• Accidental Adventurer: Ben Fogel 

Science-fiction 

• Hybrids: David Thorpe 

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Douglas Adams 

• War of the Worlds: HG Wells 

• Journey to the Centre of the Earth: Jules Verne 

• Pig-Heart Boy: Malorie Blackman 

• Flesh Market: Nicola Morgan 

• The Knife of Never Letting Go: Patrick Ness 

• Larklight trilogy: Philip Reeve 

• Uglies: Scott Westerfield