The ASE has marked its centenary with this selection of 100 poems about science from a competition entry of more than 13,000.

It aims to raise the image of science among children.

Scientists have an image problem, as three poems make very clear: 1. Start with one normal human being.

2. Marinade in madness for one hour.

3. Stir in a strange voice.

4. Mix hair until it stands up on end...;

A poem about animal testing begins:

Pain and terror

disease and torture

the lab...;

and a cautionary tale ends

... it’s terribly foolish to try and play God.

Yet science is the great human intellectual enterprise of the past four centuries, and it appeals to three great human drives: wonder, curiosity and the desire to understand. As another poem ends:

It’s amazing.

Just amazing.

Its excitement is captured by Bobby Grounds, aged eight:

... When Mrs Abbott brought a tuning fork in

We banged it on the table

We put it in a pot of water

And all the water fizzed.

Louisa Cantwell, aged seven, concludes her poem:

Wow! I want to be a Scientist when I grow up!!!

This book is good fun to browse in and it provides lots to discuss.