The winner of the Royal Society Young People’s book prize has been announced – it’s Robert Winston’s, Science Experiments.

Science Experiments - WINNER by Robert Winston and Ian Graham (Dorling Kindersley) The judges said: “This brilliant book contains clear instructions for loads of great experiments, from things that you can try yourself (without getting in trouble from your parents), to spectacular tricks to try with adults present.  Lots of books on experiments cover the same old ground, but this book goes way beyond the usual content and contains plenty of experiments that we’d never seen before.”

	How the weather works by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Beverley Young (Templar) The judges said: “We loved this beautiful and imaginative book, which uses pop-ups to explore an unusual subject – how the weather works.  We particularly liked the way that the pop-ups aren’t just there for decoration, but are thoughtfully used to explain the science behind the weather.”
	Out of this world: all the cool bits about space by Clive Gifford (Buster Books) The judges said: “This is so different to other astronomy books we’ve seen – it’s a fast-paced, funny and fact-packed guide to the very coolest bits of astronomical science.  Older readers will love dazzling their friends with the out of this world facts that they read in this book.”
	Plagues, pox and pestilence by Richard Platt and illustrated by John Kelly (Kingfisher) The judges said: “Not for the fainthearted, this imaginative and informative book covers a huge range of science while telling the story of deadly diseases.  It uses fabulous illustrations to get across some serious scientific content, and although it’s definitely gruesome in places, it’s never gratuitous.”
	See inside inventions: an Usborne flap book by Alex Frith and illustrated by Colin King (Usborne) The judges said: “It’s wonderful to see a whole book devoted to the stories behind the world’s most important inventions and we hope that this one might inspire the next generation of young entrepreneurs.  The book packs in a huge amount of science without being overwhelming, and it’s great to see the history of science covered too.”
	The magic of reality by Richard Dawkins and illustrated by Dave McKean (Bantam Press) The judges said: “This challenging and thought-provoking book explores how human beings have explored the natural world over time and tackles these ideas in a way that we’ve never seen before.  Combining a comprehensive account of science, philosophy and culture with beautiful illustrations, this is an unusual book that adults might well enjoy too.”

The judges are:

• Professor Andrea Brand FRS FMedSci (Chair) is Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Biology and a member of the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge.  Her research looks into the development of the nervous system.
• Mark Champkins is the Inventor-in-residence at the Science Museum in London. He appeared on Dragon’s Den in 2007, receiving investment from Peter Jones.
• Greg Foot is a BBC science presenter, most recently seen on BBC3 giving away The Secrets of Everything.
• Dr Anna Parrish is a science teacher at Coloma Convent Girls School in Croydon.
• Dr Angela Taylor  is a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow and Research Fellow at St Peter’s College, University of Oxford.  Her research is currently exploring remnants of the Big Bang in space.