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Tom Jackson, Author
Helen Watson, Author
Ola Szpunar, Illustrator
Series: Your Expert Guide
Imprint: Wayland
Publication date: January 8, 2026
Category: Science: general interest
ISBN: 9781526328052
From top experts in the world of science comes this definitive and clear guide to biology, published in partnership with the Royal Society of Biology.
In Your Expert Guide: Biology for Young Scientists, discover the foundations of this crucial and exciting branch of science. Learn to think like a biologist, understand what makes up a living thing and explore the biological building blocks of everything around you – from the first organisms on Earth to the slime moulds in the forest, from the lab to the South Pole. Get an expert view of how biology underpins our understanding of life!
Published in partnership with The Royal Society of Biology, a renowned organisation dedicated to a world that values biology’s contribution to improving life for all. With approachable artwork by Ola Szpunar, curious readers age 8+ can see biology come alive.
Books in the Your Expert Guide series:
With Royal Society of Chemistry: The Periodic Table / Chemistry for Young Scientists
With Royal Society of Biology: The Human Body / Biology for Young Scientists
With Institute of Physics: The Universe / Physics for Young Scientists
Tom Jackson has been a writer for 20 years. He has written more than 80 books and contributed to hundreds more. Tom gets to write about a wide range of subjects, everything from axolotls to zoroastrianism. However, his specialties are natural history, technology and all things scientific. Tom spends his days finding fun ways of communicating these kinds of facts, new and old, to all age groups and reading abilities.
Tom lives in Bristol, England, with his wife and three children. He studied zoology at Bristol University and has had spells working at the zoos in Jersey and Surrey. Tom has also worked as a conservationist, which saw him planting trees in Somerset, surveying Vietnamese jungle and rescuing wildlife from drought-ridden Zimbabwe. Writing jobs have also taken him to the Galápagos Islands, the Amazon rain forest, the coral reefs of Indonesia and the Sahara Desert. Nowadays, he can be found mainly in the attic.
Dr Helen Watson, Associate Professor of Bioscience Education, has a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry, and now works at the University of Plymouth where she leads teaching and learning in the Peninsula Medical School. Helen is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), and recently chaired the QAA’s review of the Subject Benchmark Statement for Biosciences. Helen’s research focuses on embedding effective transferable skills training into higher education curricula and promoting positive culture change to further equality, diversity and inclusion. Helen is a Trustee and member of the Curriculum Committee at the Royal Society of Biology.
Ola Szpunar is an illustrator based in Gdańsk, Poland. In addition to graduating with master’s degree from Art Academy in Gdańsk, she attended Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Antwerp and studied book design in Warsaw, Poland. Ola has been successfully running an independent illustration studio since 2017, focusing on children’s books, editorial illustrations and textile design. Ola’s work is colourful and full of light, yet highly detailed and atmospheric. Apart from illustration, Ola also makes playful and delicate ceramics under her own brand, Clai.