Science fiction books for children and teens
Science fiction books about the future, space, technology, the unknown, new worlds, aliens, AI and knowledge beyond our comprehension. This list contains 40+ titles to inspire children to become interested in STEM think deeply about narrative problems and empathize with unique situations. This list features books by Mac Barnett, Madeleine L’Engle, Louis Sachar, Donna Barba Higuera, Ernest Cline, Suzanne Collins, Amie Kaufman, James Dashner, Veronica Roth and Orson Scott Card.
Science fiction books for children and teens – our recommendations
Science fiction for elementary and middle school children
CatStronauts: Mission Moon by Drew Brockington. 
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett. 
A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga. 
Viewfinder by Christine D.U. Chung and Salwa Majoka. 
The First Cat in Space and the Soup of Doom by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris. 
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. 
Shock City: A Graphic Novel by Aaron Alexovich. 
Explorer by Kazu Kibuishi. 
We’re Not from Here by Geoff Rodkey. 
The Inventor Vol. 1: The Dangerous Discovery by Lars Henrik Eriksen. 
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. 
Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar. 
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera. 
Eragon by Christopher Paolini. 
Stephen McCranie’s Space Boy Omnibus Volume 1 by Stephen McCranie. 
Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve. 
Star Wars: The High Republic: Tears of the Nameless by George Mann. 
Glitch by Laura Martin. Science fiction books for teens in high school
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen. 
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. 
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. 
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. 
Songlight by Moira Buffini. 
Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee. 
The Getaway by Lamar Giles. 
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. 
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. 
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. 
Scythe by Neal Shusterman. 
Snowglobe by Soyoung Park. 
Sky’s End by Marc J Gregson. 
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. 
The Maze Runner by James Dashner. 
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 
Feed by M.T. Anderson. 
Unwind by Neal Shusterman. 
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. 
Divergent by Veronica Roth. 
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Click the buttons below to purchase all of the books in this book list, as well as classroom sets of any of these books and many more, from Bookshop.org. Or buy the 20 most popular titles from this list from Amazon – ideal for gifts or stocking your school library. If you are ordering from outside the US, have a look at our ‘worldwide orders’ page which makes this process easy.
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Science fiction resources for teachers
- Science Fiction Research Association – “the Oldest Professional Association Dedicated to the scholarly Inquiry of Science Fiction and the Fantastic Across All Media” It holds an annual conference for the critical discussion of science fiction and offers a variety of awards and research grants.
- National Air and Space Museum offers an immersive visual and text history of the genre. “Through science fiction, we’re able to explore new frontiers in science, innovation, and society.” This resource is an ideal primer to introduce students to science fiction in the school library.
- A beginner’s guide to science fiction from New York Public Library.
- An interesting academic article explaining the evidence behind science fiction’s impact on student resiliency and high-order thinking skills.
- An Edutopia article offers many ways teachers can use this genre to invigorate science and STEM learning in the classroom.
- This University of North Dakota academic article shows how reading futuristic stories can help children understand science concepts better. There’s also this academic article from Minnesota State University which explores similar ideas.
- Education Week explores the best texts to help children learn more about AI concepts.
Genre classification
BISAC JUV056000 YAF056000 Children’s / Teenage fiction: Science fiction | Thema YFG
