MY 8 year old loves playing Minecraft, especially with his Dad. He’s got a great imagination and loves to build his own creations. He also likes a little help and has a good collection of Minecraft books to inspire him. He was recently sent two new Minecraft STEM Challenge books to read and tell you about – Build a City and Build a Theme Park.
Minecraft STEM Challenge: Build a City
Build a bustling Minecraft metropolis – and get to grips with STEM concepts (science, technology, engineering and maths) as you play! Using core STEM principles, this book will take you step-by-step through the process of designing and constructing your own mega Minecraft city – from calculating area when building your foundations and understanding the different properties of the materials available to you, to learning about lighting and the use of symmetry in architecture. Read about science topics in the real world, then put your learning to use within the game, discovering the differences between real life and the Minecraft world. At the end of the book the reader will have created one amazing city, with skyscrapers, shops, a sports stadium, roads and houses.
Minecraft STEM Challenge: Build a Theme Park
Simple-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for constructing a Minecraft theme park, including a bouncy castle, water ride, haunted house, ferris wheel, roller coaster and animal park. Read about STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) topics in the real world, then put your learning to use within the game, discovering the differences between real life and the Minecraft world. Using core STEM principles, this book will take you through the process of designing and constructing your own Minecraft theme park – from calculating area when building your rides and understanding the different properties of the materials available to you, to learning how gravity and friction affect the speed of your roller coaster. At the end of the book you will have created one amazing theme park, complete with multiple attractions, ticket booths and lighting.
My 8 year old has read both books cover to cover, my husband has read them too. My son put sticky notes on all the builds he wanted to try (which was most of them). They’ve already started on building their own theme park, partly inspired by our recent trip to Duinrell in the Netherlands. My son would definitely recommend these books as they are well laid out and easy to read. They’ve inspired him to build in Minecraft and I love that they are educational too.
Minecraft STEM Challenge: Build a Theme Park and Minecraft STEM Challenge: Build a City both by Anne Rooney, published by Carlton Kids. Both books are priced £8.99 and perfect for ages 8 and over.
Other Minecraft Master Builder books you may be interested in:
Minecraft Master Builder Toolkit by Juliet Stanley
Minecraft Master Builder World by Juliet Stanley
These look and sound fab! My youngest already has them on her Christmas list. x