Best Science Fiction Books for Children

Science fiction opens up a world of possibilities for children from aliens and space travel to robots and time travel and even machines that can do your homework for you. Unlike fantasy, these speculative fiction stories offer an added layer of believability in that they are loosely based on science, and sometimes, it's very loosely. Still what child hasn't dreamt of being a super-spy with nanobots in their braces like Jackson Jones in N.E.R.D.S. or building a machine that can do your homework for you like Brenton in The Homework Machine? For many sci-fi fans, these books will introduce young readers in their lives to the worlds and characters that they have grown to love, tried and true sci-fi fans may even find a few new places and faces that enchant them.

For any reader with a sense of adventure, come explore space, meet aliens, dinosaurs, robots, mad scientists, and more in these pages. Though these books may seem to be flights of fancy, a lot of them tackle some very down to Earth issues, like the importance of being yourself, bullying, and respect for others who are different than you. The kids in these stories display very real qualities from Franny K. Stein feeling like an outcast to Milo in Mars Needs Moms resenting his mom for making him eat broccoli. They also display courage and friendship, like Tip in The True Meaning of Smekday, and determination, like David and Chuck in The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. The stories on this list range from picture books for toddlers to middle-grade books for fifth and sixth graders, but whatever your age, whether you like sci-fi or not, there will be something in these pages to capture your imagination and take you on a wild adventure. So, what are you waiting for? Check out these titles.