Finalists for 2024 Children's Science Picture Book Award

AAAS and Subaru are proud to announce the finalists for the 2024 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Children’s Science Picture Book category. The Prize celebrates outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults and is meant to encourage the writing and publishing of high-quality science books for all ages. Longlists for all four categories were announced in October.

The 2024 winner will be selected from among the following finalists:

• Before Colors: Where Pigments and Dyes Come From, by Annette Bay Pimentel. Illustrated by Madison Safer. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2023.  

  From award-winning author Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrator Madison Safer, Before Colors is an oversize nonfiction picture book exploring pigments and dyes made from natural sources—across time and around the world.

  Colors don’t come out of nothing. They always start somewhere . . . With something . . . With someone.

  Discover how color is harnessed from nature in this survey of dyes and pigments from around the world. Organized by color—from yellow to purple to red and more—Before Colors marries a lyrical core text with tons of informational material for curious readers.

• Science of Baking (Ada Twist, Scientist: The Why Files #3), by Andrea Beaty and Dr. Theanne Griffith. Amulet Books, 2022.

  From the New York Times bestselling creator of the Questioneers, Andrea Beaty, and author Theanne Griffith comes The Science of Baking (Ada Twist, Scientist: The Why Files), a nonfiction early-reader book based on the Netflix series!

  How does a cake bake? What’s the difference between baking soda and baking powder? And why is it so important to measure the different ingredients in a recipe?

  Ada Twist, Scientist: The Why Files is the perfect nonfiction resource for all these questions and more. Based on the bestselling series and the Netflix show, this nonfiction series is perfect for the youngest scientists of tomorrow as they learn along with Ada. Designed in a scrapbook format, these books combine art from the show, illustrations, and photography to bring simple science concepts to life.

• We Go Way Back: A Book About Life on Earth and How it All Began, by Idan Ben-Barak. Illustrated by Philip Bunting. Roaring Brook Press, 2023.

  From the author of kid-favorite Do Not Lick This Book comes an innovative, hilarious, and expansive picture book about the biggest question of all: What is life? 
  It's not an easy question. 
  Life is more than just one thing. 
  Where did it start? 
  Peer back in time - way back in time - to the story of how life began… 

• Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-floor Ecosystem, by Melissa Stewart. Illustrated by Rob Dunlavey. Random House Studio, 2023.

  Stunning painterly art and gentle, lyrical prose combine to bring a little-known, deep-sea ecosystem to life for young readers. Meet the fascinating community of creatures, from amphipods and zombie worms to squat lobsters and sea pigs, that depends on a decaying whale for shelter and sustenance for up to 50 years. 

Winners will be announced in February 2024.