Books like George and the Big Bang by Lucy Hawking

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.

A true account of William Kamkwamba, a Malawian boy who, against famine, drought and poverty, builds a working windmill from scrap to bring electricity and water to his village.

At eleven, Calpurnia Tate explores Texas nature, learns about insects with her skeptical grandfather, and discovers what it means to grow up and be a girl in 1899.

"A unique and moving real-life story of the extraordinary bond between a young teacher and a penguin, this book will delight readers who loved Marley & Me, Dewey the Library Cat, The Good Good Pig, and any book by Jon Katz. In 1975, twenty-three-year-old Englishman Tom Michell follows his wanderlust to Argentina, where he becomes assistant master at a prestigious boarding school. But Michell's adventures really begin when, on a weekend in Uruguay, he rescues a penguin covered in oil from an ocean spill, cleans the bird up, and attempts to return him to the sea. But the penguin refuses to leave his rescuer's side. "That was the moment at which he became my penguin, and whatever the future held, we'd face it together," says Michell in this charming memoir. Michell names the penguin Juan Salvador ("John Saved"), but Juan Salvador, as it turns out, is the one who saves Michell. After Michell smuggles the bird back to Argentina and into his campus apartment, word spreads about the young Englishman's unusual roommate. Juan Salvador is suddenly the center of attention--as mascot of the rugby team, confidant to the dorm housekeeper, co-host of Michell's parties, and an unprecedented swimming coach to a shy boy. Even through the collapse of the Peronist government and amid the country's economic and political strife, Juan Salvador brings joy to everyone around him--especially Michell, who considers the affectionate animal a compadre and kindred spirit. Witty and heartwarming, The Penguin Lessons is a classic in the making, a story that is both absurd and wonderful, exactly like Juan Salvador"-- "Whether as rugby team mascot or assistant swimming coach, the penguin known as Juan Salvador touches and transforms everyone he encounters, including Tom Michell, the young teacher who finds him and rescues him from an oil spill disaster. After a time, Juan Salvador (meaning "the saved one") receives a new name: Juan Salvado, or "the savior." Set against the turbulent world of political unrest of 1970s Argentina, this multi-layered true story is a testament and tribute to animals and will no doubt resonate with the people who love them"--

As a boy, John James Audubon loved to watch birds. In 1804, at the age of eighteen, he moved from his home in France to Pennsylvania. There he took a particular interest in peewee flycatchers. While observing these birds, John James became determined to answer a pair of two-thousand-year-old questions: Where do small birds go in the winter, and do they return to the same nest in the spring?