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Young People's Book Prize activities 2025-26

CIEC has again partnered with the Royal Society to launch six sets of engaging, practical science activities to accompany the Young People’s Book Prize shortlisted books of 2025.

Every year, the Royal Society invites schools, libraries, science centres and youth groups to form a mass judging panel across the UK and vote for the winner of the Young People's Book Prize.

Over 350 schools receive the six shortlisted books and vote for the winner.

View the 2025 shortlisted entries.

Green: The Story of Life on Our Planet

  • Keywords: cross-curricular literacy, YPBP, Royal Society, Young People’s Book Prize, home learning, homework, reading, science club, STEM careers, plants, living things, habitats, food chains, sustainability, climate change, fossil fuels, environment

Written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Emily Sutton

Learn all about how plants began, how they make food from sunlight, and how they shaped Earth into a living planet. The activities on the sheets focus on investigating the roles plants play in ecosystems through food chains, fossil fuels, and sustainability. There is also a linked maths investigation and information about related STEM careers.

Patience

  • Keywords: cross-curricular literacy, YPBP, Royal Society, Young People’s Book Prize, home learning, homework, reading, science club, STEM careers, changes over time, evolution, reversible changes, irreversible changes, heart rate

Written by Rachel Williams and illustrated by Leonie Lord.

Discover how living things change over time; from heartbeats and plant growth to lifetimes, forests, and whole ecosystems. The activities on the sheets focus on observing change across different timescales, investigating growth and evolution, and using simple scientific methods to record, compare, and explain those changes. There is also a linked maths investigation and information about related STEM careers.

The Animal Body Book

  • Keywords: cross-curricular literacy, YPBP, Royal Society, Young People’s Book Prize, home learning, homework, reading, science club, STEM careers, animals, skeleton, bones, teeth, digestion, adaptation, classification

Written by Jess French and illustrated by Jonathan Woodward.

Find out how animal bodies are built and how they work, from skeletons and teeth to digestion, symmetry, and the special adaptations that help each species survive. The activities on the sheets focus on exploring animal anatomy through hands‑on modelling, comparing structures like teeth, skeletons, and digestive systems, and investigating adaptations such as symmetry and specialised body parts. There is also a linked maths investigation and information about related STEM careers.

The History of Information

  • Keywords: cross-curricular literacy, YPBP, Royal Society, Young People’s Book Prize, home learning, homework, reading, science club, STEM careers, communication, data, graphs, information, symbols

Written by Chris Haughton with Loonie Park.

Learn how humans have shared and communicated information throughout history, from early symbols and cave art to graphs, data, computers and the internet. The activities focus on collecting, representing and questioning information, including making graphs, using symbols, evaluating sources and recognising misinformation. There is also a linked maths investigation and information about related STEM careers.

The Rocks Book

  • Keywords: cross-curricular literacy, YPBP, Royal Society, Young People’s Book Prize, home learning, homework, reading, science club, STEM careers, rocks, soils, minerals, properties, hardness, texture, magnetism, formation, geology, observation

Written by Nancy Dickman.

Find out how rocks, minerals and precious stones form, what they’re made of, and how they reveal Earth’s history. The activities focus on testing rock properties through hands on investigations, including hardness, texture, magnetism and acid reactions, and linking these properties to real world uses and geological processes. There is also a linked maths investigation and information about related STEM careers.

The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals

  • Keywords: cross-curricular literacy, YPBP, Royal Society, Young People’s Book Prize, home learning, homework, reading, science club, STEM careers, dinosaurs, prehistoric, animals, features, classification, taxonomy, bones, vertebrate, fossil, adaptation, evolution

Written by Mike Barfield and illustrated by Paula Bossio.

Explore how dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals lived, how they hunted, moved, survived, and evolved, brought to life through dramatic scenes, facts, and illustrations. The activities on the sheets focus on classifying vertebrates, exploring prehistoric species, comparing ancient animals with modern ones, and using models, research, and big-number maths to understand how life has changed over time. There is also a linked maths investigation and information about related STEM careers.

Archive of book prize activities from previous years