Short science stories for children

[Octavia]

I am looking for a gift for a niece. She thinks she is interested in science - aged 10. Does anyone have any ideas of any collections of short stories that are related to science?

[The Prof]

Short stories?

I can't think of a single collection!

There are some lovely books that might be appropriate, but they are popsci. It's really hard. For that age group there are lots of 'how to blow things up' sort of science, or stuff about goo and poo that tries to be 'accessible', but I'm not too keen.

I really like Sidney Brenner's 'Loose Ends' but that might be a bit old. And of course it's not fiction.

[Beatrice]

Loose Ends is nice but I don't think kids would go for it.
Does it have to be a book? A DVD of something like "Dexter's Laboratory" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter%27s_Laboratory) might be a bit more 21st Century. I honestly don't think a short fiction collection about science for kids actually exists...maybe one of us needs to write one!

[hedge]

Good idea!
Though with the webstory track record might take a few centuries...

I am struggling actually to think of any children's short story collection that's come out in the past 20 years. It seems very old fashioned now.

[Andy Sawyer]

I am looking for a gift for a niece. She thinks she is interested in science - aged 10. Does anyone have any ideas of any collections of short stories that are related to science?

They're short novels rather than stories, but one possibility if she's a good reader might be the "Uncle Albert" books by Russell Stannard -- The Time and Space of Uncle Albert, etc. They're aimed at explaining concepts like relativity, so they're "educational" but less obviously teaching books than the "Horrible Science" series and other such.

[Reg_200]

There are short stories in the lablit list, I see...

The blurb reads:
Ship Fever

by Andrea Barrett
Historic fiction: Do swallows really sleep under water? A collection of short stories blending history, science and fiction.

Of course it might not be of the appropriate age!

[Dr Mike]

I'd never heard of those Uncle Albert stories, Andy - many thanks for the tip-off. Wonder if they are still in print - so many great kids books aren't.