Hello! I’m Isabel Thomas, an award-winning science writer, children’s author and educator. I’ve written more than 300 books about science and nature for young audiences, which have been translated into more than 25 languages. They include the multi-award-winning picture book Moth: An Evolution Story – which has become part of the curriculum in many UK primary schools – and the bestselling Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions series. I also write features for publications such The Week Junior Science+Nature, BBC Bitesize, the Guardian and The Bookseller, and create resources and events for outreach projects, inspiring children from diverse backgrounds to pursue education and careers in science and creative industries.

Most of all, I love speaking to live audiences about science and the arts – from packed theatre shows at festivals around the world, to BBC Women’s Hour, to interactive and inclusive science and literacy workshops in schools.

If you’d like to work with me, please get in touch at isabel@isabelthomas.co.uk or with my agent Kate Shaw.

awards and honours

Winner
• UK Literacy Association Information Book Award 2026 (Frog: A Story of Life on Earth)
• School Library Association Readers’ Choice Award 2026 (Frog: A Story of Life on Earth)
• AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books 2023 (Fox: A Circle of Life Story)
• AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books 2020 (Moth: An Evolution Story)
• Dapeng Natural Children’s Book Award 2023 (Moth – An Evolution Story)

Shortlisted
• Spark! Book Awards 2026 (Frog: A Story of Life on Earth)
• Spark! Book Awards 2026 (Frog: A Story of Life on Earth)
• Children’s Wainwright Prize 2025 (Frog: A Story of Life on Earth)
• Peters Children’s Book of the Year 2025 (Frog: A Story of Life on Earth)
• Association of Science Education Book of the Year 2023 (Impossible Questions)
• The Week Junior Book Awards 2023 (Impossible Questions)
• Deutsch Jugendliteraturpreis 2021 (In Great Numbers)
• Association of Science Education Book of the Year 2021 (Fox: A Circle of Life Story)
• English 4-11 Picture Book Award 2019 (Moth – An Evolution Story)
• Association of Science Education Book of the Year 2017 (Self-Destructing Science)
• Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2016 (How To Change the World)
• Blue Peter Book Awards 2011 (You Need To Know This Now)

Longlisted
• Spark! Book Awards 2026 (Frog: A Story of Life on Earth)
• Green Earth Book Award 2022 (This Book is Not Garbage, This Book Will (Help) Cool the Climate)
• UKLA 2022 Book Awards (Fox: A Circle of Life Story)

Nominations
NJLA Garden State Teen Book Award 2023 (Exploring the Elements)
Elementary Nutmeg Book Award 2022 (Moth: An Evolution Story)
Kate Greenaway Medal 2022 (Fox: A Circle of Life Story)
Kate Greenaway Medal 2020 (Moth: An Evolution Story)

Other honours
BBC Wildlife Magazine Book of the Year 2025 (Frog: A Story of Life on Earth)
Children’s Book Council Teacher Favorites Award 2023 (Fox: A Circle of Life Story)
Guardian Book of the Year 2022 (The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions)
Waterstones Best Books of 2022 (Full of Life: Exploring Earth’s Biodiversity)
NSTA / CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books 2022 (Scientists)
NSTA / CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books 2021 (Exploring the Elements)
ALA Booklist Top Ten Science Books of 2021 (Exploring the Elements)
ALA Booklist Top Ten Science Books of 2021 (Fox: A Circle of Life Story)
Booklist Editor’s Choice 2021 (Fox: A Circle of Life Story)
Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of 2021 (Fox: A Circle of Life Story)
NSTA / CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books 2020 (Moth: An Evolution Story)
New York Times best books of 2020 (Exploring the Elements)
ALSC Notable Children’s Books 2020, Commended (Moth: An Evolution Story)
CCBC Choices 2020 (Moth: An Evolution Story)
Children’s Favorites Award 2020 (Moth: An Evolution Story)
Waterstones Best Books of 2020 (Exploring the Elements)
Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of 2019 (Moth: An Evolution Story)
Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best 2019 (Moth: An Evolution Story)
School Library Journal Best Books of 2019 (Moth: An Evolution Story)
Blackwell’s Book of the Month 2021 (This Book Will Help Cool the Climate)
Junior Library Guild Selection 2015 (Experiments with Heating and Cooling)
Junior Library Guild Selection 2014 (City Safari: Pigeon)
Junior Library Guild Selection 2013 (Being a Photographer; Stars and Galaxies)

who i write for

Alzheimer’s Research UK • BBC Bitesize • The Bookseller • Bloomsbury • Cambridge News • Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook • Collins Big Cat • Curious Fox • Dorling Kindersley • Fischer Family Trust • Little Gestalten • The Guardian • Hachette • Hodder Wayland • Ladybird • Laurence King • Lonely Planet • Macmillan Children’s Books • Nosy Crow • Oxford Education Blog • Oxford Owl • Oxford University • OUP • Pearson • Penguin • Phaidon • Project Wild Thing • Quarto • Rising Stars • Raintree • Scholastic • The Week Junior Science + Nature • Welbeck • Wellcome Trust • Wide Eyed • Whizz Pop Bang! • Wren & Rook

my background

I grew up in a low income, one-parent family and attended five different state schools in Devon and Oxfordshire. My childhood was at times very tough, and I’m happy to share some of my experiences with young audiences when they ask, because sadly publishing and writing is still dominated by people from very privileged backgrounds. This Bookseller article is a good summary of the issues. I want to show young people and others from disadvantaged backgrounds that it’s possible to break into science, science writing and creative careers, and that our voices and experiences matter.

I did A Levels in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics before winning a place to study science at the University of Oxford, where I studied Human Sciences. While I struggled with culture shock at university, I was lucky to go to a college (Mansfield) that had a much higher proportion of state-school pupils than the rest of the university. I found my people by getting involved in student journalism, becoming Deputy Editor of the student newspaper and discovering a love of writing through my brilliant interdisciplinary course. After university I didn’t have a clear idea of what to do next. My family didn’t know people in professional jobs, and I couldn’t afford to do the unpaid internships necessary to break into journalism. But over the next decade I gradually elbowed my way into a career that combines my two loves – science and writing!

Publishing can still feel a tough industry to be in, but my childhood gave me two things that have helped me make a success of it – a thick skin and an absolute determination to prove myself. One of my favourite editors describes me as ‘relentlessly enthusiastic’ – basically I just refuse to give up! That’s my top piece of advice to other writers, which I’ve shared in The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook every year since 2018.

Today I live near Cambridge, UK with my husband, three children (who are guinea pigs for all my books and science activities) and two tortoises (who are no help whatsoever!). Recently, I got the chance to do something that I couldn’t afford in my 20s – a research MPhil at the University of Cambridge. My research explored the integration of science, literacy and the arts in education and its impact on widening access to science. During my MPhil I realised how much I enjoyed putting ideas into practice in the classroom, and in 2025 I returned to the Faculty of Education at Cambridge to train as a secondary science teacher. When I’m not writing, I’m teaching chemistry and physics to 11 to 16 year olds in a state school in the East of England.

quick links

Listen to me speak on BBC Woman’s Hour about my book Fox: A Circle of Life story, inspired by losing my only parent at a young age

Listen to me speak about my journey into writing on the brilliant podcast Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe

Watch my vlogs on Outdoor Learning for Oxford Owl

Read my contribution to the British Science Association’s Science: Not Just for Scientists campaign

Watch my films on fun learning activities for Oxford Owl

Read my advice for aspiring non-fiction writers for Writers & Artists

Read my tips for encouraging reluctant readers

Read my tips for firing up children’s non-fiction writing power

If you’d like to work with me, please get in touch at isabel@isabelthomas.co.uk or with my agent Kate Shaw.