A group of third-year undergraduate student teachers used books and stories during science enquiry lessons as part of the BASICS (Books And Stories In Children's Science) project funded by the AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust. This three-year project involved a cluster of five primary schools in the greater Belfast area. The aim of the project was to explore the impact of coupling children's "basic" innate curiosity about the world around them with their love of stories. The comments and observations of all of the teachers involved make a powerful case for adopting this approach to teaching science at foundation stage (ages 4-6 in NI) and key stage 1 (ages 5-8). In this article, the authors discuss how the "BASICS" approach can support science enquiry. (Contains 2 boxes.)