Here are 100 books that Quantum Physics for Babies fans have personally recommended if you like Quantum Physics for Babies. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Pigeon Has to Go to School

Ethlie Ann Vare Author Of WOOF!

From my list on reads I wish were around when I was a kid.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Boomer. I was expected to read books about well-behaved children (Fun with Dick and Jane, 1940) or happy animals (The Poky Little Puppy, 1942), or going to bed quietly (Goodnight Moon, 1947). Why do you think my cohort has so much love for Dr. Seuss? The Cat in the Hat (1957) was a brat, and kids love a brat. The rhymes were smart, and kids need smart. Today, I get to read books to my grandkids that have edge, and books that don’t talk down to them. They deserve it, they won’t settle for less, and it’s a hell of a lot more fun for me.

Ethlie's book list on reads I wish were around when I was a kid

Ethlie Ann Vare Why Ethlie loves this book

Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus is the better known in this series of funny, adorably illustrated books, but I think Pigeon Has to Go to School really gets to the heart of why Pigeon is so beloved by kids: He embodies kid-ness.

He’s defiant and bratty and scared and anxious and excited and impatient and distractible and everything else that is lovable and crazy-making about your daughter/son/grandchild.

An easy read for young kids and fun to read to them.

By Mo Willems ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Pigeon Has to Go to School as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

Mo Willems' Pigeon is BACK in a hilarious story perfect for those about to start school or nursery.

"There is no such thing as a bad Mo Willems book" The Times

The Pigeon is about to get SCHOOLED. Do YOU think he should go?

Why does the Pigeon have to go to school? He already knows everything! Well ... almost everything. And what if he doesn't like it? What if the teacher doesn't like him? I mean, what if he learns TOO MUCH!?!


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of The Book with No Pictures

Omar Abed Author Of The Book That Almost Rhymed

From my list on self-aware picture books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I always felt like books were mysterious and elusive works of art. When creating them occurred to me, I started to think, “What is a book, really, and what does it mean to publish one?” This over-analysis of books makes me appreciate authors who are able to step back and see books for what they really are–pages and ink. Distilling it down to that makes writing and publishing a book feel more accessible to me.

Omar's book list on self-aware picture books

Omar Abed Why Omar loves this book

This was the first book that made me realize how picture books could play with the traditional picture book format with resounding success.

My son loves listening to me read the silly words out loud. It’s no secret why this clever book was so successful.

By B.J. Novak ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Book with No Pictures as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This innovative and wildly funny read-aloud will be the Must Have book of the season. You might think a book with no pictures seems boring and serious. Except...here's how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say...BLORK. Or BLUURF. Even if the words are a preposterous song about eating ants for breakfast, or just a list of astonishingly goofy sounds like BLAGGITY BLAGGITY and GLIBBITY GLOBBITY.


Book cover of P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever

Ethlie Ann Vare Author Of WOOF!

From my list on reads I wish were around when I was a kid.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Boomer. I was expected to read books about well-behaved children (Fun with Dick and Jane, 1940) or happy animals (The Poky Little Puppy, 1942), or going to bed quietly (Goodnight Moon, 1947). Why do you think my cohort has so much love for Dr. Seuss? The Cat in the Hat (1957) was a brat, and kids love a brat. The rhymes were smart, and kids need smart. Today, I get to read books to my grandkids that have edge, and books that don’t talk down to them. They deserve it, they won’t settle for less, and it’s a hell of a lot more fun for me.

Ethlie's book list on reads I wish were around when I was a kid

Ethlie Ann Vare Why Ethlie loves this book

To be perfectly honest, the title is the best part of this book. None of the text is quite as funny as the concept, but the concept is worth the price of admission.

You can keep your A is for Apple and B is for Ball. I’ll take K is for Knight and D is for Djibouti.

It’s not likely that a toddler is going to need to spell “phlegm” any time soon, but it’s a fun read for the adult — and the grown-ups also need to be entertained by a book that’s going to be aloud 100 times. 

By Raj Haldar , Chris Carpenter , Maria Beddia (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked P Is for Pterodactyl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

A New York Times Bestseller!

A "raucous trip through the odd corners of our alphabet." -The New York Times

Let's get real-the English language is bizarre. A might be for apple, but it's also for aisle and aeons. Why does the word "gnat" start with a G but the word "knot" doesn't start with an N? It doesn't always make sense, but don't let these rule-breaking silent letters defeat you!

This whimsical, funky book from Raj Haldar (aka rapper Lushlife) turns the traditional idea of an alphabet book on its head, poking fun at the most mischievous words in the…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of National Geographic Kids Readers: Deadliest Animals

Ethlie Ann Vare Author Of WOOF!

From my list on reads I wish were around when I was a kid.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Boomer. I was expected to read books about well-behaved children (Fun with Dick and Jane, 1940) or happy animals (The Poky Little Puppy, 1942), or going to bed quietly (Goodnight Moon, 1947). Why do you think my cohort has so much love for Dr. Seuss? The Cat in the Hat (1957) was a brat, and kids love a brat. The rhymes were smart, and kids need smart. Today, I get to read books to my grandkids that have edge, and books that don’t talk down to them. They deserve it, they won’t settle for less, and it’s a hell of a lot more fun for me.

Ethlie's book list on reads I wish were around when I was a kid

Ethlie Ann Vare Why Ethlie loves this book

Deadliest Animals is a good introduction to the National Geographic Kids series of softcover science readers, as kids are most drawn to animals that are either cuddly or poisonous.

These Net Geo readers are divided into Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3, with titles including Planets, Dinosaurs, Sea Otters, Trucks, Ancient Egypt, and more.

The text and illustrations are magazine-style and fairly straightforward, but they’re colorful, well-researched, and thankfully inexpensive.

By Melissa Stewart ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked National Geographic Kids Readers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Did you know that a tiny golf ball-sized creature called the blue-ringed octopus contains enough venom to kill 26 adult humans? Or why the Sydney funnel web spider is one of the most dangerous creatures in the world? In this Level 3 book, kids will be fascinated by 12 species that you hope you'll never come across! Sharks, snakes, jellyfish and more—these creatures are among the most threatening—and interesting—in the world!

National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.
Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.


Book cover of QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter

Philip Nelson Author Of Biological Physics Student Edition: Energy, Information, Life

From my list on have your own science or math ideas.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have taught undergraduate and PhD students physics and biophysics for 36 years, and I never get tired of it. I always look for hot new topics and everyday things that we all see but rarely notice as interesting. I also look for “how could anything like that possibly happen at all?”-type questions and the eureka moment when some idea from physics or math pries off the lid, making a seemingly insoluble problem easy. Finally, I look for the skills and frameworks that will open the most doors to students in their future work.

Philip's book list on have your own science or math ideas

Philip Nelson Why Philip loves this book

Blew my world apart. 

Without one single formula, Feynman takes you to the heart of quantum theory. The foundations of everything you thought you knew about light get ripped out and replaced by new foundations that cover every success of the 19th-century theory yet offer new vistas. I will probably read this tiny book every year for the rest of my life; each time I get new insights into physics (and the presentation of physics).

After reading it, you will understand the stationary-phase principle better than most Physics PhD students without one formula.

By Richard P. Feynman ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked QED as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Celebrated for his brilliantly quirky insights into the physical world, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman also possessed an extraordinary talent for explaining difficult concepts to the general public. Here Feynman provides a classic and definitive introduction to QED (namely, quantum electrodynamics), that part of quantum field theory describing the interactions of light with charged particles. Using everyday language, spatial concepts, visualizations, and his renowned "Feynman diagrams" instead of advanced mathematics, Feynman clearly and humorously communicates both the substance and spirit of QED to the layperson. A. Zee's introduction places Feynman's book and his seminal contribution to QED in historical context and…


Book cover of The World According to Physics

Brian Clegg Author Of What Do You Think You Are? The Science of What Makes You You

From my list on making the deep mysteries of science approachable.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a science writer with over 40 books published. Science is central to all our modern lives—but for many people it feels remote, and difficult to understand. I love the opportunity to communicate science—to turn it from a collection of facts into stories that people can relate to. I always read popular science before I got into writing, but, if anything, I read it even more now. My own background is physics and math—and I enjoy reading and writing about that—but sometimes, it’s particularly interesting to pull together different aspects of science that affect all of us, crossing disciplines and uncovering the wonders that science bring us.

Brian's book list on making the deep mysteries of science approachable

Brian Clegg Why Brian loves this book

In this compact hardback, physicist Jim Al-Khalili outlines in a straightforward way what he describes as the “three pillars of physics”. These don’t overlap much with the physics many of us will have done at school: they are relativity, quantum theory, and thermodynamics. Yet Al-Khalili shows how these three topics help us understand how everything works. In an approachable way, without a single equation, we get a feel for the power of physics. Al-Khalili’s personality and enthusiasm shine through.

By Jim Al-Khalili ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The World According to Physics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Quantum physicist, New York Times bestselling author, and BBC host Jim Al-Khalili offers a fascinating and illuminating look at what physics reveals about the world

Shining a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, Jim Al-Khalili invites us all to understand what this crucially important science tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself.

Al-Khalili begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, and then describes the three pillars of modern physics-quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics-showing how all three must come together if we are ever to have a full…


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Dreams of a Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature

Harry Cliff Author Of Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding of the Universe

From my list on the universe and our cosmic origins.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by science since I was a small child. I used to try to drag my parents up to London’s Natural History Museum to gawk at dinosaurs every other Sunday and remember the delight of seeing Saturn and its rings through a telescope from our back garden. I started reading popular science books as a teenager and they were a large part of what inspired me to ultimately become a physicist. I hope the books on this list will bring a bit of awe and wonder into your life!

Harry's book list on the universe and our cosmic origins

Harry Cliff Why Harry loves this book

This beautiful little book explores the loftiest goal of all of physics, the search for a complete theory of the fundamental workings of nature. Weinberg was not only a Nobel Prize winning physicist, but an incredible, lyrical writer.

Written at the start of the 1990s, the book still remains relevant today, as physicists are still struggling towards a more complete description of the universe.

By Steven Weinberg ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dreams of a Final Theory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist and bestselling author of The First Three Minutes describes the grand quest for a unifying theory of nature--one that can explain forces as different as the cohesion inside the atom and the gravitational tug between the sun and Earth. Wirting with dazzling elegance and clarity, he retraces the steps that have led modern scientists from relativity and quantum mechanics to the notion of super-strings and the idea that our universe may coexist with others.

But Weinberg asks as many questions as he answers, among them: Why does each explanation of the way nature works point to…


Book cover of The Vital Force: A Study of Bioenergetics

Neil W. Blackstone Author Of Energy and Evolutionary Conflict: The Metabolic Roots of Cooperation

From my list on bioenergetics or how life makes a living.

Why am I passionate about this?

Evolution is the most general theory of biology that we have. I seek to employ evolutionary principles to provide a predictive framework for both current ecological interactions and interactions that occurred earlier in the history of life. A generation ago, the study of cooperation was revolutionized by the deceptively simple notion of “follow the genes.” Embracing another simple notion—follow the electrons—can have an equally large effect in illuminating cooperation. Connecting evolutionary biology to biochemistry, however, remains a challenge—many evolutionary biologists dislike biochemistry and are much more comfortable with the informational aspects of life (e.g., genes). The below “best books on bioenergetics” can help to bridge this gap.

Neil's book list on bioenergetics or how life makes a living

Neil W. Blackstone Why Neil loves this book

So, how is oxygen involved in bioenergetics? Perhaps remarkably, the modern view of bioenergetics only recently emerged in the closing decades of the 20th century. 

As related in this volume, the chemiosmotic hypothesis of Peter Mitchell roiled the field of bioenergetics and led to the nearly two-decade “oxphos wars.” In the end, the chemiosmotic hypothesis was triumphant, and bioenergetics became the study of building and harnessing trans-membrane ion gradients. 

In this context, oxygen takes its place as a terminal electron acceptor, which by facilitating electron flow through the electron transport chain, helps to build the trans-membrane proton gradient. There are, of course, quite a few other actual or potential terminal electron acceptors, and there is much more in this volume about how organisms move electrons around to convert energy.

By Franklin M. Harold ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Vital Force as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Book by Harold, Franklin M.


Book cover of Quantum Physics for Smart Kids

Chris Ferrie Author Of Quantum Physics for Babies

From my list on quantum physics to grow up on.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of quantum physics—the most notoriously complicated science humans have ever invented. While the likes of Albert Einstein commented on how difficult quantum physics is to understand, I disagree! Ever since my mum asked me—back while I was a university student—to explain to her what I was studying, I’ve been on a mission to make quantum physics as widely accessible as possible. Science belongs to us all and we should all have an opportunity to appreciate it!

Chris' book list on quantum physics to grow up on

Chris Ferrie Why Chris loves this book

Baby is now a child and is probably ready to graduate beyond short analogies. So, next up is Quantum Physics for Smart Kids, where Valentina and her cat Plank journey into the quantum world! There they find all sorts of fun facts about quantum physics as well as some explanations for why the world behaves this way.

By Carlos Pazos ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Quantum Physics for Smart Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Age range 5 to 9

Discover the mystery of science with Future Geniuses!

Join Valentia, the little scientist, and her cat, Plank, as they learn why Plank can never seem to catch the laser he loves to play with.

To do this, they must shrink down to the smallest size imaginable. Once they're tiny, they can better learn about quantum physics, discovering secrets that are invisible to those of us who are full sized!

Valentina teaches Plank all about molecules, atoms, particles, photons, and matter., as well as solids, liquids, and gasses-and fusion and fission!

Future Geniuses is a collection…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of The Quantum Ten: A Story of Passion, Tragedy, Ambition, and Science

Steven Gimbel Author Of Einstein's Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and Religion

From my list on biographies of mathematicians and scientists.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a professor, I see students fascinated by science, but petrified to take a science class. This is in part because we have dehumanized science, removed the story, edited out the human, deleted the parts that allow people to connect with it. Science does not get delivered by gods, but is created by people: smart, quirky, sometimes immoral people. As a writer, my hope is to be able to reinsert life into readers’ understanding of our greatest advances. As a reader myself, I am deeply appreciative when other authors do it too.

Steven's book list on biographies of mathematicians and scientists

Steven Gimbel Why Steven loves this book

The early period of the development of quantum mechanics were heady days, full of fascinating characters and factional infighting. As Europe was about to tear itself apart again, the physics community had also fractured. Jones explains the scientific fault lines and the personal relations (some of them quite racy!) that were in play as the modern theory of the atom unfolded.

By Sheilla Jones ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Quantum Ten as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Theoretical physics is in trouble. At least that's the impression you'd get from reading a spate of recent books on the continued failure to resolve the 80-year-old problem of unifying the classical and quantum worlds. The seeds of this problem were sewn eighty years ago when a dramatic revolution in physics reached a climax at the 1927 Solvay conference in Brussels. It's the story of a rush to formalize quantum physics, the work of just a handful of men fired by ambition, philosophical conflicts and personal agendas. Sheilla Jones paints an intimate portrait of the key figures who wrestled with…


Book cover of The Pigeon Has to Go to School
Book cover of The Book with No Pictures
Book cover of P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever

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