Books for the Junior Scientist by Teri Malkin

• Did Dinosaurs have feathers? If you want to know the answer and the explanation to that question, read Feathered Dinosaurs of China written and illustrated by Gregory Wenzel. (Charlesbridge. 32pp.). Trade $16.95, $6.95 paper. Grades 3-5.

• Who invented the square-bottom paper bag? A woman did. Read American Women Inventors, by Ann Camp to find out about all sorts of inventions created by American women. (Enslow Publishers. 104pp.). Library $26. Grades 9-12. 

• If you like birds and you like solving mysteries of nature, you’ll enjoy reading and seeing the illustrations in The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. (Houghton Mifflin, 32pp.). Trade $15. Grades 3-5.
• What would drive a teen-age boy to attempt suicide by fire? Read about his struggle to recover in The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon. (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House. 384 pp.). Trade $17.95, Library $19.99. Grades 9-12, mature subject.

• If you love art and like reading journal entries instead of chapters, then The Flower Hunter: William Bartram, America’s First Naturalist,,by Deborah Kogan Ray, is the book for you. (Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 40pp.). Trade $17. Grades 3-5.

• A better world through chemistry. Find out how Linus Pauling did this in Linus Pauling: Advancing Science, Advocating Peace, by Naomi Pasachoff. (Enslow Publishers. 128pp.). Library $26.60. Grades: 9-12.

• One way to be a star is to be one of the first women to study them. That’s what Maria Mitchell, the world famous astronomer did in the 19 th Century. Read about her in Maria Mitchell: the Soul of an Astronomer by Beatrice Gormley. (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 149pp.). $12 paperback. Grades 6-8.

• Brilliant can mean intelligent and it can mean radiating (as in x-ray). Read about Marie Curie: A Brilliant Life, by Elizabeth MacLeod, to find out about the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. (Kids Can Press. 32 pp.). Trade $16.95, $7.95 paperback. Grades 6-8.

• Are We Alone? Scientists Search for Life in Space by Gloria Skurzynksi, discusses that question, speculates on how life may have formed and the variety of life on our planet. Scientists also describe their passion for this topic. (National Geographic Society. 96pp.). Trade $18.95, Library $28.90. Grades 6-8.

• In the battle of nature and man, nature wins. Forces of Nature: The Awesome Power of Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tornadoes by Catherine O’Neill Grace, shows the effects of nature’s fury on the human population and man’s attempts to understand these forces. (National Geographic Society. 64pp.) Trade $17.95 Grades 6-8.

• Great illustrations of flying reptiles and details of their lives can be found in Pterosaurs: Rulers of the Skies in the Dinosaur Age by Caroline Arnold and Illustrated by Laurie Caple. (Clarion Books. 40pp). Trade $16. Grades: 3-5.

• Rocket Man: The Mercury Adventure of John Glen by Ruth Ashby is part biography, part real-life adventure about the astronaut that is told from a unique historical perspective. It has terrific photos from NASA and great illustrations by Robert Hunt. (Peachtree Publishers. 144pp.) Trade $12.95. Grades 3-5.

• Weather-related experiments, an easy to understand information source, useful tools of the meteorologist and mind boggling storms make Scholastic Atlas of Weather, a must read. (QA International. Scholastic Reference. 80pp.) Trade $17.95. Grades 3-5.

• T Rex, by Vivian French and illustrated by Alison Bartlett, has charming illustrations and easy to understand explanations. What makes this book so fascinating is that it points out what we don’t know and still need to discover. (Candlewick Press. 32pp) Trade $15.99. Grades K-2.