I’m a freelance writer and mother of two girls and a cat. When I’m not chasing them, I write about parenting, business, and gardening.
children’s curiosity about genetics and DNA
Recently, my 5-year-old daughter has been asking a lot of questions about human bodies and why we are the way we are. perhaps her curiosity itself is genetic: my twin sister is a geneticist. she will ask, “why do I look like my sister?” or “Why am I allergic to amoxicillin?” At your young age, you won’t be able to understand the answers to these questions on a very complex level, but there’s no reason why we can’t start exploring these topics further and allow you to gain at least a basic understanding of how our bodies and genetics work. .
You are reading: Cell books for kids
When I went to our local library, I discovered that there were very few books written at a level simple enough to read to a young child on these topics. I decided to take my search further and find the best books on cells and dna for kindergarten kids. After searching Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and consulting with scientific friends, I came across the following books that, for the most part, have been perfect for satisfying your curiosity. after reading these books, he now stops people in the hallways at school to tell them how he got his eye color!
the best children’s books on cells
here are the best books to teach your child about cells.
enjoy your cells by frances balkwill
This book is probably more of a 2nd grade book and up, but I’ve read it to my 5 year old, just picking and choosing the parts we read. each page is filled with detailed illustrations and plenty of text, but it’s not boring. there are also fun speech bubbles popping out of many of the images. some were too advanced for my daughter to understand, but some made her laugh. I learned a lot from this book myself!
I like this book too because unlike other books that talk about cells and dna, it introduces the fact that humans start from a single cell and that our dna continually copies itself to make more and more. more cells. He did this without getting too deep into “the birds and the bees,” but answering critical questions and filling in the blanks for kids who are curious about how we get our DNA in the first place.
a children’s story about cells: for children who appreciate biology by michael bacotti
you can read this book for free if you have the amazon kindle unlimited subscription; otherwise it is available in paperback. is a very simple book that introduces the concept of cells, how they form organs like our skin, and how our immune system fights off bad cells, i.e. bacteria. this book is very short and can be read in less than 3 minutes; however, the illustrations are very basic and good for explaining cells to young children.
the best children’s books on dna and genes
See Also: 17 Ways To Find Good Books To Read – Cushing-Malloy
here are the best books to teach your child about dna and genes.
have a good dna by frances balkwill
this is from the same author as enjoy your cells, mentioned above. goes into a bit more detail about conception, so be sure to read the book beforehand and make a note of the pages you’d like to skip when reading. Again, this book explains the basics of DNA: its shape, how it is stored in the nucleus, how it copies itself, and what it means. this is the kind of book to buy rather than just check out of the library for a short while, although it’s not too long, there’s a lot of information, and it’s a good reference to come back to. The more you reread this book, the more your little one (and you!) will retain.
the biochemical baby: dna (volume 1) and the biochemical baby: rna (volume 2) by margot alesund
These books go together, and both have similar language and word count, but the first volume presents considerably simpler concepts that are more familiar to the average adult who does not major in biology. The DNA Book introduces the idea of DNA, its structure and nucleotide names, and how DNA is stored by wrapping it around histones and then into chromosomes. It briefly covers that we get one set of chromosomes from our biological father and another from our biological mother, but I wish I had seen it cover a bit more about how that determines how we look. I like that this book also adds cute speech bubbles to the different cell and dna illustrations.
The RNA Book briefly re-introduces the topic covered in the first DNA book, then jumps right into the work of RNA and the many different types of DNA molecules. It explains the different functions of DNA and RNA, and again has cute speech bubbles with each RNA molecule explaining its job. ideas about rna are complex but written as simply as possible. my 5 year old can remember more information about dna than rna, which is understandable because the rna book has a lot more complex details.
23andme you share genes with me for 23andme inc.
I first came across this book at my sister’s house (who is a geneticist) while I was visiting. she was in the library with her 2-year-old son. This book is a short board book that simply explains how humans have certain percentages of their genes in common with other living things. it starts with plants with which we have less genetic overlap, then with insects and animals with which we have more in common. the idea is that all living things are connected because we share a large part of our genome. This book is perfect for younger children, but it’s also good for older children to illustrate how all of life is connected. It is published by 23 and me, which is a genetics company that will analyze your DNA for a small fee.
gregor mendel: the friar who grew peas by cheryl bardoe
I like this book because it’s about heredity and how we can see expressed genes, rather than just looking at cells and dna at a microscopic level. This is a good book to read after reading the other books on this list, and after children have a concept and background of what a cell is and what DNA is. explains how gregor mendel, one of the first people to realize the fact that living things inherit and pass on traits, used peas to test her theories.
the biochemical baby series
online learning resources about the human body and genetics
Reading is a great way to explore nonfiction concepts with young children, especially if the material you are reading is fun and story-like. After gaining a solid foundation of knowledge through learning, children may wish to further explore the topic of human genetics. there are many places online to get more information and ideas for activities. Here are some links to more online resources on the human body and genetics for children:
dna in brainpop
See Also: The Best Preschool Books About Body Parts – Craft Play Learn
genetics for children at www.lovetoknow.com
3 ways to make a practical dna model for kids
what is dna and how does it work?
comments
zarana on July 26, 2018:
I’m considering writing children’s science books & I am digesting the brilliance that already exists. thank you so much for sharing your thoughts & recommendations.
rochelle frank from california gold country on February 24, 2018:
I think your child may be on their way to becoming a scientist. human curiosity is a wonderful thing. (I wonder if he is genetic?)
I think it’s a wonderful thing that you offer encouragement to your daughter…too many children lose their curiosity early and often, even at school.
(the image at the top looks like military campaign ribbons).