Welcome to the very first installment of Science Baby’s book club. We LOVE books in this house – did you know that if you read 5 books to your child every day, then by the time they’re 5 then they’ll have been exposed to over 1.4 million words?
We believe that any book in childhood is a good book, but there’s an awful lot of choice out there, so we want to do our bit and share the books that we, the Science Family, love! Some of them will be sciencey books, but by no means all of them. We like a well-rounded literary education!
[Note: This post contains affiliate links. Buying from these links supports our work with a small commission, but we only link to things we genuinely recommend]
The Book
Wednesday is for Wiggling
by Eva Wong Nava
illustrated by Holly Sterling
Published by Walker Books
2025
This book is all about finding the joy in everyday life. Whether it’s having playdates with friends, hanging out with mum or dad, or simply going to the library, the lively text and charming illustrations bring a typical pre-schooler’s week to life like never before.
Our Thoughts
This picture book is a feast for the eyes. Every day is a new adventure for the main character, and young readers will be able to recognise lots of the things they do themselves. We found ourselves pointing out scooters, watering cans, balloons, drawings, baking, books and dinosaurs.
As with all good picture books, there’s something new to see every time you read it.
The main character doesn’t do anything remarkable – in fact, all of the activities described are things that we do ourselves most weeks, but the words and pictures really bring those activities to life, revealing them as the moments of joy they really are.
It’s multicultural without agenda, simply a reflection of modern life in Britain, making the whole thing realistic and relatable. There are characters and settings that are just so normal, and it’s great to see kids’ lives represented in this way.
We found that reading about the activities in the book made us more likely to consciously enjoy those activities in real life. It’s been a while since we’ve visited our local library, but as soon as we read that ‘Thursdays are for Thinking’, Science Baby was asking to go to the library… and off to the library we went! Likewise, we remembered to walk on our tippy toes at ballet, and somebody has been roaring like a dinosaur for the last four days! (Although to be fair that’s a pretty normal week for us anyway!)
The words and message are simple and straightforward, with language that’s accessible to pre-schoolers, and some poetic flourishes that little ones may enjoy repeating and acting out. My only gripe is that some of the phrases don’t really fit with my way of speaking or reading aloud. I found some of the repeated flourishes and emphases a bit awkward, but there’s nothing to stop you putting your own spin on these or leaving them out. It doesn’t affect the overall vibe at all.
Science Baby Book Club Rating:
This is one that I, as a parent, am very happy to keep coming back to. It has gentle positive vibes, a simple but powerful message, and plenty to look at and take away every time.
The official blurb suggests that it helps to reflect families where the mom and dad aren’t together, but I genuinely didn’t realise that was the case until I read the blurb! It’s quite normal for many families, whether together or not, to split the week into days with mum, days with dad, and days with other carers. As a result, I think the book is really suitable for anyone with pre-school kids, but may be especially helpful for kids who might be struggling with spending time away from their parents, or who aren’t enjoying going to nursery.
Do you agree? If you’ve read it, leave a comment and let me know what you think!
We were kindly gifted this book from Walker Books, but you have a choice of where to buy:
The Science Baby 
Leave a comment