Here are 100 books that Mauve fans have personally recommended if you like
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After many years of studying the subject and still more writing about it, my mind is still blown away by the fact that pretty much everything around you is a chemical of some kind. Even more impressive to me is that all of the molecules that make up everything you can see, smell, touch, and taste are made from combinations of just a handful of elements. The periodic table is a one-page summary of pretty much everything, the ultimate Lego kit to build a whole universe. I love finding out about and telling the stories of these incredible chemical constructions.
Chemistry saves our lives every second of every day without us usually noticing it. Primo Levi’s personal history with chemistry perhaps saved him from the gas chambers of Auschwitz.
This extraordinary book is a series of snapshots from Levi’s life each linked to a different element. I would recommend reading anything Primo Levi has written, The Periodic Table is just the best place to start.
An extraordinary kind of autobiography in which each of the 21 chapters takes its title and its starting-point from one of the elements in the periodic table. Mingling fact and fiction, science and personal record, history and anecdote, Levi uses his training as an industrial chemist and the terrible years he spent as a prisoner in Auschwitz to illuminate the human condition. Yet this exquisitely lucid text is also humourous and even witty in a way possible only to one who has looked into the abyss.
After many years of studying the subject and still more writing about it, my mind is still blown away by the fact that pretty much everything around you is a chemical of some kind. Even more impressive to me is that all of the molecules that make up everything you can see, smell, touch, and taste are made from combinations of just a handful of elements. The periodic table is a one-page summary of pretty much everything, the ultimate Lego kit to build a whole universe. I love finding out about and telling the stories of these incredible chemical constructions.
Sack’s biography of his childhood in London is full of chemical curiosity and surrounded by family members who shared his enthusiasm, encouraged his experimentation, and supplied seemingly endless fascinating stories about elements and chemistry. There are stories of Sacks making powerful stinks in the garden shed and the titular Uncle Tungsten who talked about metals as though they were friends.
This memoir from Oliver Sacks is both a departure from and an enhancement of his previous psychologically orientated 'medical' writing. Not only is it a beautifully written account of an English childhood - seasoned by a childish passion for science - but it is told from the intimate and revelatory perspective of one of the most important and humane writers on psychology alive today. Oliver Sacks has the literary artistry of WH Auden and the intellectual rigour and questioning mind of Stephen Jay Gould. The world authority in his field, this is a remarkable insight into the mind and background…
After many years of studying the subject and still more writing about it, my mind is still blown away by the fact that pretty much everything around you is a chemical of some kind. Even more impressive to me is that all of the molecules that make up everything you can see, smell, touch, and taste are made from combinations of just a handful of elements. The periodic table is a one-page summary of pretty much everything, the ultimate Lego kit to build a whole universe. I love finding out about and telling the stories of these incredible chemical constructions.
Yes, it’s a book all about one element, and that element just happens to be my favourite, but it’s also a book about biology, history, alchemy, ghosts, spontaneous human combustion, murder, industrial poisoning, and war.
I have spent plenty of time in the lab getting to know phosorus at a very personal level, but this book revealed a whole new side to the element. If, like me, you love the macabre and gothic, the sinister and the scientific, this is the element and the book for you.
Born of the age of alchemy and harbouring the kind of mysterious influence that alchemists sought, phosphorus brought wealth to a few but misery to many. For over 300 years, phosphorus maimed, killed, polluted and burned - sometimes on a terrifying scale. Yet, such were its perceived benefits that doctors prescribed it, every home contained it and whole industries were dedicated to its manufacture
'This is popular science at its best, a great subject, unfolded with the skill of the storyteller' - Lisa Jardine, Sunday Times
'An excellent and convincing read' - Financial Times
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
After many years of studying the subject and still more writing about it, my mind is still blown away by the fact that pretty much everything around you is a chemical of some kind. Even more impressive to me is that all of the molecules that make up everything you can see, smell, touch, and taste are made from combinations of just a handful of elements. The periodic table is a one-page summary of pretty much everything, the ultimate Lego kit to build a whole universe. I love finding out about and telling the stories of these incredible chemical constructions.
A thought-provoking book about ammonia, a molecule made easily in nature but with great difficulty by humans.
Fritz Haber was the chemist who found a way to make ammonia artificially, but he was a complicated and controversial figure. The industrial production of ammonia has fed billions through its use in fertiliser, and killed millions through its use for making explosives.
A sweeping history of tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the Haber-Bosch discovery that changed billions of lives—including your own.
At the dawn of the twentieth century, humanity was facing global disaster: Mass starvation was about to become a reality. A call went out to the world’ s scientists to find a solution.
This is the story of the two men who found it: brilliant, self-important Fritz Haber and reclusive, alcoholic Carl Bosch. Together they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, and saved millions of lives.
From the ages of 1-4, my son Finn deeply rooted himself into the detailed world of Richard Scarry. These books could be such slow reads that we only needed two of them for long airplane rides. Through Finn’s love of Scarry books, I began searching for more books that delighted with detail. And when I did not see my family’s bicycle-rich lifestyle reflected in books, I created Cycle City.
The Lost House takes readers on a seek-and-find quest through Grandad’s quirky house to recover items needed for a trip to the park. A chaotic visual delight, The Lost House features a vibrant limited color palette on each seek-and-find spread. Cronin charms the reader with unique characters, delightfully complex interiors, and a painterly style. The first in a series, also check out: The Lost Picnic, The Lost Cousins, and The Lost Christmas.
A brother and sister want to go to the playground with their grandfather, but they can't leave until they find his socks...and his shoes...and his glasses...will they ever get out of Grandad's hodgepodge house? This treasure trove of a book by a brilliant debut author-illustrator prompts very young readers to search and find the missing object on each spread packed with Grandad's bric-a-brac.
As children, my brother and I were constant playmates. He was an early riser and often woke me up so our day of play could begin as soon as possible. I have sight, and my brother is blind. Play for us was an all-senses experience. We felt the rumble of our bikes on the street, listened to the screech of the metal swing set, and guessed spices by their smell. We also devoured stories. We listened to audiobooks, he read to me in Braille, and I read to him. All of these experiences, and more, prepared me to be an author of numerous children’s books with sensory details to make stories come alive.
This award-winning book, first published in Mexico, is completely black, yet so colorful in its words and images.
The words describe colors with artful description, such as, “…green tastes like lemon ice cream and smells like grass that’s just been cut.” To fully engage the senses, the words are printed in Braille, and the images are raised, so they can be touched and “read” as well.
Living with the use of one's eyes can make imagining blindness difficult, but this innovative title invites readers to imagine living without sight through remarkable illustrations done with raised lines and descriptions of colors based on imagery. Braille letters accompany the illustrations and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help reading along with their fingers. This extraordinary title gives young readers the ability to experience the world in a new way.
I grew up thinking that being adopted didn’t matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women’s reproductive rights places…
When I was little, I knew I would work with books in some way, and I did, for many years working for one of the major children’s book publishers. But it wasn’t rewarding in the way I had hoped. Some kids know they want to be a teacher when they grow up. I definitely did not, yet I became one. I love finding ways to make learning fun. In my teaching days I found ways to get the most reluctant students to find something they could enjoy about learning. And now as an author, I find myself doing the same, and as a parent, seeking out books like the ones I recommend here that teach without teaching.
I love how this book turns around what we typically think of colors and how they are associated with feelings. “My sister says that blue is sad like a lonely song. But my blue is happy like my favorite jeans and a splash in the pool on a hot day.” This calm, cheerful book has characters expressing opposing views on each page, and it’s never confrontational. The message of this book, without being teachy, is that we all see things in our own way, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s also another book that makes it fun to talk about feelings, which is tough for many kids.
What is your blue like? A lyrical ode to colors — and the unique ways we experience them — follows a little girl as she explores the world with her family and friends.
Your neighbor says red is angry like a dragon’s breath, but you think it’s brave like a fire truck. Or maybe your best friend likes pink because it’s pretty like a ballerina’s tutu, but you find it annoying — like a piece of gum stuck on your shoe. In a subtle, child-friendly narrative, art teacher and debut author Jessica Young suggests that colors may evoke as many…
Katherine Pryor is the award-winning author of several picture books about food and gardens. In addition to writing, she has worked to create better food choices at institutions, corporations, and food banks. She gardens with her young twins at their home on an island in northwest Washington.
My kids absolutely loved this bright, charming book that supports counting and colors as well as portraying vegetables in an irresistible light. A rainbow of vegetables is presented, culminating in a recipe at the back for a vegetable soup. The language is sparse, but we had fun reading this aloud again and again. The recipe for Every Color Soup was the first meal my four-year-old son and I created together where he was an equal participant in the cooking, and he ate every bite!
Purple, yellow, orange, and red. Just the right mix of colored vegetables make a delicious soup in this tasty introduction to colors, counting, and veggies.
All you need is a pot, a spoon, an adult helper, and vegetables of many colors to make a very special soup—Every Color Soup! Learn colors and vegetable names in this bright and colorful picture book with minimal text perfect for the beginning reader. Jorey Hurley’s bright, graphic art and simple text make this vibrant book a perfect read-aloud for budding cooks and their families. This lively picture book also comes with a recipe!
I’m an artist with an analytical mind. I love art and stories but I also love systems and processes. Ever since taking a class at art school about making pop-ups, I’ve been in love with paper engineering. It’s been the perfect synthesis of all my loves. There’s something fascinating about transforming an everyday object (paper) into something unexpected. Combined that with a great story and you have a magical experience! I like focusing my work on books for young readers (board books - picture books) because it gives adults and kids an opportunity to interact with each other and build memories.
Without using any physically interactive mechanisms, this book still engages!
It breaks the fourth wall and the narrator asks you directly to do certain tasks—tap the dot, tilt the book to the left, shake the book, etc. When reading this book with my kids, I’ve never heard so many giggles. It is also a great way to help teach my kids colors, actions, and directions. Reading this book becomes a form of play!
PRESS HERE, MIX IT UP!, LET'S PLAY!, and SAY ZOOP! Collect all four interactive books from Herve Tullet!
Press the yellow dot on the cover of this interactive children's book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising touch book instructs the reader to push the button, shake it up, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next! Children and adults alike will giggle with delight as the dots multiply, change direction, and grow in size! Especially remarkable because the adventure occurs on the flat surface of the simple, printed page,…
This irreverent biography provides a rare window into the music industry from a promoter’s perspective. From a young age, Peter Jest was determined to make a career in live music, and despite naysayers and obstacles, he did just that, bringing national acts to his college campus atUW-Milwaukee, booking thousands of…
I am the author and illustrator of the baby book listed below. As a mom of a 1-year-old, I am no stranger to kids’ books. After 1 year of going through my baby’s bookshelf and finding my own personal favorites, I realized that the common theme amongst all of my favorites is that all my selects happen to rhyme. Therefore, when I set out to write my own book, it was a given that this would be a rhyming story. Since then, I have been reading and researching all of the rhyming books to create my own. After all this research, these top five books are my top picks.
This book is a great way to teach your baby about animals and color identification. It also reminds you and your baby to stop and look around at the world around you. The illustrations are simple but striking for babies. The ending of this book comes together really nicely!
A much-loved classic, illustrated by the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Vibrant artwork and favourite animals make this rhythmic story the perfect introduction to learning about colours. Each spread leads seamlessly into the next and young children will delight in Eric's colourful collage animals and simple repetitive language.
Discover more books by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle:
