We'd love your feedback. Send us a message.

I kick off this episode with a vampire story but it lands somewhere unexpectedly practical: how to raise scientifically curious children without turning your home into a worksheet factory. We’re making the case that fiction, not just non-fiction science books, can build the real foundations of scientific thinking: attention, observation, affection, and the courage to keep asking questions when you don’t yet have answers. We walk through a carefully chosen reading list of “science meets fiction” for different ages, from picture books to adult novels. You’ll hear how stories like The Very Hungry Caterpillar lock biology into memory, how woodland animal tales can spark conversations about ecosystems and decomposition, and how The Curious Garden turns a simple plot into an invitation to explore ecology, biodiversity and urban greening. We also dig into books that open children’s eyes to human impact, including a standout story that introduces light pollution and nocturnal food webs in a way that feels magical rather than preachy. Then we shift into STEM-forward favourites that celebrate failure and iteration, including Ada Twist Scientist and the wider series, plus chapter books that respect kids enough to use real scientific language. From there it’s puzzles, codes and middle grade problem solving, before moving into YA and adult “science in stories” that tackle grief, ethics, engineering, evolution and the biggest ‘what if’ questions. Along the way, we keep coming back to one simple goal: help readers fall in love with the world, because what we love is what we pay attention to. This is an episode you don't want to miss if you not only want to raise readers, but also scientifically minded curious kids.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Beth Ferry

My Interview with the amazing Anne Bogel on her show What Should I Read Next?

Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don't forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder.

Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

We'd love your feedback. Send us a message.

What do house-sitting for a world-renowned scientist, a fascination for deep time and dinosaurs, being a self-confessed book dragon, and drinking copious quantities of tea have in common? Absolutely nothing… unless, of course, you’re Elizabeth Shreeve! And luckily for us, she is our guest today.

In today's episode, we are continuing our exploration of the intersection between science, storytelling, and wonder and trace a thrilling path from deep time to legend, exploring how fossils, misunderstood animals, and cultural storytelling may have sparked myths like mermaids, griffins, sea serpents, and of course dragons. If you love science books for kids, dinosaurs, folklore, and the hidden history inside stories, this conversation is for you.

One thing about our chat that I hope will stand out for all listeners is Elizabeth's unusual route into writing. Starting with a science and arts childhood, studying geology at Harvard, learning in the orbit of Stephen Jay Gould and E O Wilson, then a long career in landscape architecture and urban planning before she turned fully to books - it all reinforces what the Tea, Tales, and Test Tubes segment of this podcast keeps discussing. The wonder of scientific inquiry isn't only found in classrooms and in labs. That blend shows up on every page of Dinosaurs To Dragons, from its “let’s imagine” openings to its evidence-led investigations and playful questions about what it would take, biologically, to be a mythical creature.

Cool stuff mentioned in the episode:

Elizabeth Shreeve's website

Video trailer for Dinosaurs to Dragons

Generation Skeptics Education Resources (and all the links therein)

The “ridiculous” bibliography for Dinosaurs to Dragons – all the resources that formed part of Elizabeth’s research for this wonderful book

Paleo Nerds podcast

Stephen Jay Gould’s Life’s Grandeur

Read all about the amazing EO Wilson

Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don't forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder.

Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

We'd love your feedback. Send us a message.

A rotten bean in a glass jar should be a brilliant science moment, right? Instead, it becomes the moment my child looks at me with worry and says, “I’m going to lose marks.” That fear is what sends me down a bigger question: when primary school science education becomes worksheets, right answers, and ticking boxes, are we accidentally teaching children to hate science and even to hate learning? The shock! The horror!

We start with the “growing bean experiment” and pull it apart like real scientists. We talk about what happens when a classroom leaves no space for “but why?”, and how quickly curiosity gets replaced by compliance. Then we leave the doom and gloom aside and invite hope and wonder back into the equation.

Here's why you don't want to miss this episode:

• I get practical and provide genuinely doable activities for busy parents who do not see themselves as “science people”.
• I share ways to make inquiry-based learning part of ordinary life using the example of the water cycle (this might blow your mind!)
• Because this is a bookish podcast, I point you in the direction of some awesome non-fiction books to get the wonderful language into your kids spongy brains (brains so ready to absorb beautiful knowledge).
• And because I know children and I am also a busy parent, I embrace TV and other tech - from YouTube shows I love to Netflix doccies, podcasts that we can listen to endlessly, and a new-to-me website that will honestly turn on scientific thinking... simply.

If you want to raise a scientifically literate child without burning out, press play, then share this with a parent who needs hope.

Links and other cool stuff mentioned in this episode:

Get wonderful scientific language into your kids beautifully spongy brains by reading the best non-fiction. Not sure what the best non-fiction is? I got you:

https://teatalesandtomes.wordpress.com/2025/07/01/episode-9-beyond-fiction-this-mums-reluctant-journey-into-the-world-of-childrens-nonfiction-books/

Season 1, Episode 9: From the Gentle Science of Baby Loves Quarks to Laugh-out-Loud Learning with Bill Bryson: Non-fiction is Fun Too

Season 1, Episode 10: Between Stories and Science: Where Non-Fiction Becomes Art

Cool ways to learn the water cycle

Dr. Binocs on Youtube.

Jane Goodall’s Famous Last Words

The best podcast all about dinosaurs

Listen to the latest scientific discoveries but through an exciting audio cartoon format with Wow! In the World

How about a website that does the hard work for you with all the experiments and resources well thought out? Generation Skeptics has absolutely blown my mind ever since I heard about it. Just go check it out! You will not be disappointed.

Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don't forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder.

Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.