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I thank dnlee for this contribution and would like to broaden it. I'll toot my own horn, but i'll also go beyond that.

I would say that these recommendations fall into the "nature" end of the "science and nature" category.

My books are more toward the physical science and astronomy end of things.

For the middle grades (grades 4-6), my Astrobiology provides an interesting look at what I call "the truth about space aliens." This is part of Lerner's very successful "Cool Science" series.

For slightly older readers (grades 5-8), I offer Beyond Jupiter: The Story of Planetary Astronomer Heidi Hammel. That book is part of the "Women's Adventures in Science" series published by the Joseph Henry Press imprint of the National Academies Press and Scholastic Library Publishing.

Rather than relying on dnlee or me to recommend children's science books, I suggest that you visit your local bookstores and children's libraries and encourage them to broaden their selection in that area. It's a highly competitive arena, and too few of the buyers are aware of the wonderful variety of interesting and--yes--entertaining science books for young readers.

Fred Bortz -- Science and technology books for young readers (www.fredbortz.com) and Science book reviews (www.scienceshelf.com)