AAAS and Subaru have announced the finalists for the 2019 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Middle Grades Science 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 September. The 2019 winner will be selected from 6 finalists, including two Canadian titles.

Rewilding: Giving Nature a Second Chance, by Jane Drake and Ann Love. Annick Press. 2017.

In this comprehensive look at rewilding, the authors present examples of how endangered animals have been rehabilitated and returned to their natural habitats. From pandas and peregrine falcons to jaguars and wolves, their stories testify to the fact that the extinction of species can be avoided.

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle, by Erica Fyvie (Author) and Bill Slavin (Illustrator). Kids Can Press. 2018.

Using the contents of an average kid’s backpack as a starting point, this book explores the production, use, and eventual end of products involving water, paper, food, plastic, clothing, metals, and electronics. The text offers information about the life cycle of common and necessary materials.

AAAS’s Science NetLinks will create lesson plans and other resources around the 2019 finalists, and once again the books will be offered to schools across the country as part of the Subaru Loves Learning initiative. Through this partnership between AAAS and Subaru, more than 85,000 books were donated in 2018.

Winners will be announced in December and awarded at the 2019 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., February 14-17, 2019.

The finalists for the children’s science picture book category was announced earlier in the week.