Children's Space Books Books

Space Station Mars
By Daniel San Souci

Danny tells the story about the 'Clubhouse' boys. A scary movie ignites the imagination of the six boys. Suddenly, they see signs of space invaders, and aliens all around them. They see a UFO, a meteor and hear strange messages in secret alien codes.

Doning their homemade, protective gear, they head to the clubhouse to test for radiation.

Will the boys be safe from invading forces? Will they unravel the codes in time to save the planet?

Kids and adults, alike will enjoy "Space Station Mars," and having fun with the clubhouse boys.

Jill Vanderwood, Author
Through the Rug
Through The Rug: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)
These are great read-together books for this age!

Wonderful children's book with great stories that children of all ages will enjoy!! We have purchased the whole series for our daughters.

After Danny and his friends see a Martian movie, they spend the night in their clubhouse where their imaginations run wild. Before long they are seeing flying saucers and radioactive meteors. Upon further examination, and with the help of whiz-kid Neil, they determine that the meteor is safe. But when an odd shape appears on the horizon, the boys determine the aliens want their meteor back. Thankfully, they have Neil around to act as their ambassador so the aliens can leave in peace.

Space Station Mars is full of wonderful, whimsical childhood imagination, and plenty of humor. The beautiful illustrations reflect not only what they boys are seeing, but what they hope to see and what really is. This mom sees what life used to be and the children only see fun. Our gang can't wait to get our hands on the rest of the Clubhouse Books.

An all-around great read for any child's library.

Armchair Interviews says: This series is sure to be a winner.

This book is breath of fresh air for the younger reader. It gives the reader permission to use their imagination to the fullest. The books of this series also work well as read alouds.

As an upper elementary teacher, I am constantly looking for books that will encourage my students to make a transition from "picture books" to "chapter books" and that will nurture a desire to read. Spencer Hurley and the Aliens provides both of these.
Terry Locke doesn't just entertain with his words, but draws the reader in with his comical illustrations. I read this story aloud to my third graders and they were crowding in to see if there was an illustration as they were introduced to each new character.
With characters that we befriended in our imaginations, we are anxious to find out what happens to them in Book Two of this series. As a teacher, I can rest assured that I have found a book for boys and girls to read for the best reason of all- for enjoyment!

Spencer Hurley and The Aliens Book One "The Abduction" is such a great story. This book is one of a few books that I have encountered that I could not sit down. This book grasped my attention from the first chapter to the very last. The book causes you to think about the story and opens up your imagination to the fullest. Like the good old days of having a story that keeps your imagination going without a pause!! My daughter that is 9, also enjoyed this book, and we are looking forward to the next Adventure...

As an adult, I never stopped being an avid childrens-book reader (e.g. Harry Potter et al) and have found yet another series to keep me entertained and hooked, awaiting for the next adventure. Book One in the Spencer Hurley series is just the beginning of what I expect to be a continuous and exciting journey, with lovable kids, adults, and aliens, and of course, the not-so-lovable.
Book One captures its readers early on, inviting us into the lives of its three main characters. As we embrace these youngsters and cheer them on, the author takes his readers on unexpected twists and turns, unsure where we, and Spencer, will end up next. The author's vivid and colorful imagination, as well as the use of illustrations, enriches his storytelling. A must-read for any kid at heart.

Prepare to be beamed aboard an alien vessel that's full of strange creatures and goopy cuisine. From the first page to the last, Spencer Hurley and the Aliens is a fun and exciting tale that I couldn't put down. Spencer may be the lead character but, his bumbling friend, Ryan definitely steals the spotlight. With this being Book 1 of a series, I can't wait to see what mess they get into next.

If you, like me, dream of exploring space, then this is the book for you to read. This book litteraly puts you in the shuttle during one of the flights. From countdown to landing, this book takes you through it all. Out of all the astronaut books that I have read, this one is the best.

This is a wonderful, well-written book about a space shuttle mission from start to finish. My 7-year old was enthralled by the book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it to him. The book covers topics that are of interest to kids as well as adults, such as how astronauts go to the bathroom in space, how they eat, sleep and shave, etc. It also covers topics that earthbound folk such as me never even thought about, such as what is done with all the weightless hair, crumbs, and the like that float around the cabin at the end of the day. The topics range from the mundane to the scientific. Orbit, launching and retrieving sattelites, and scientific experiments are discussed in easily understable language. I highly recommend this book.

Heard the taped version of TO SPACE AND BACK by Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space . . . though supposedly written for a young adult audience, I nevertheless found it a fascinating account of what it would be to like to have to eat, sleep and work while circling the Earth.

It has also made me think twice about consuming something as simple as a peanut butter sandwich . . . while you or I would just go to our fridge and prepare such a delicacy in minutes, when in space, you can't just do this whenever you want to . . . you must have at least one other person with you at all times to do such mundane tasks as hold the jar lid when you go to get a knife.

Long an advocate for improved science education, astronaut Sally Ride, the first American women to fly in space, has written four children's books: "Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System"; "The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space"; "The Mystery of Mars"; and this one, "To Space and Back."

In this book Dr. Ride takes children on a first person tour of a space shuttle mission. She describes preparations for the flight, the actual launch, orbital flight with its characteristic weightlessness, and the return to Earth when the shuttle lands like an airplane on a runway.

As an example of how she approaches this subject. She writes that at launch plus six minutes: "The force pushing us against the backs of our seats steadily increases. We can barely move because we're being held in place by a force of 3 g's--three times the force of gravity we feel on Earth. At first we don't mind it--we've all felt much more than that when we've done acrobatics in our jet training airplanes. But that lasted only a few seconds, and this seems to go on forever. After a couple of minutes of 3 g's, we're uncomfortable, straining to hold our books on our laps and craning our necks against the force to read the instruments. I find myself wisping we'd hurry up and get into orbit." Then she describes how, at about eight minutes after launch, the engines cut off and she is weightless in Earth orbit.

This book is a treat for young readers. It captures the excitement and mystery of space exploration as only a veteran astronaut--one who is both reflective and committed to the education of young people--can relate it. Share it with them.

I am so happy this book is still in print! I received this book as a birthday gift when I turned 9. I read it once a year - and always have. My copy is wearing thin and I want one that I don't have to be so delicate with. I will keep the original and pass it on to my children. It is a true delight and a fantastic journey!

This is one of my absolute favorite books from when I was a little girl. My dad used to read it to us at night, and then I reread it when I got older. Very hard to find but worth every penny, this book is BEAUTIFUL and I hope it goes back into print someday.

Although I read many books when I was a kid, there were only about four or five that I would return to year after year- ones that gave me a thrill no matter how many times I entered their worlds. This is one of those books. It is the tale of two spoiled and thoroughly modern American children who accidentally follow their caretaker and gardener on a journey back in time to ancient Ireland. Upon arrival they meet a boy named Finn MacCool, who will go on to become one of the greatest figures in Irish mythology. Lonely from being raised in isolation, he decides to take them on his quest to become a man and claim the leadership of the Fianna, the legendary defenders of Ireland. Besides, he needs someone to compose an epic poem about his travels, and the two children have a knack for rhyme. Tannen makes the heroes and monsters of Irish lore utterly fascinating, yet accessible to children. I would spend hours and hours imagining myself questing around the Emerald Isle after reading this book. You and your children will be enchanted.

My mother would read this book to me and my sister before bed when we were about seven/eight yrs old. We both really loved this book and I think it helped our minds develop to a higher level of thinking and creativity. I read the book again in highschool and as an adult and got just as much enjoyment from it. I look forward to reading this book to my children. I would recomend this book for anyone :)

Over five thousand years ago, ancient Babylonian priestesses correctly anticipated solar eclipses and arrivals of comets. "Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars" is a part of Stone Pine Presses' Discovering Women in Science Series, and outlines how the fairer sex has made significant contributions to the science of astronomy, focusing on the past hundred years with references to such ancient contributions such as the Babylonian priestesses above. Author Mabel Armstrong, a teacher of science for over a quarter of a century, speaks of her own obstacles in the field and gives advice to other aspiring female astronomers. "Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars" is highly recommended for women's studies and science shelves everywhere and for any girl astronomer-to-be.

In this comprehensive study of the life and contributions of women astronomers throughout the ages, author Mabel Armstrong shows that she has truly done her research. Filled with great photographs, interesting sidebars, and fun timelines, WOMEN ASTRONOMERS: REACHING FOR THE STARS gives information on twenty-one influential female astronomers.

Included are:

EnHeduanna: Chief Astronomer of the Moon Goddess of the City
Hypatia of Alexandria: Astronomer, Engineer, Physicist, Inventor
Hildegard of Bingen: Heard the music of the spheres
Caroline Herschel: She and her brother revolutionized the study of astronomy
Marla Mitchell: The most famous American astronomer of her time
Williamina Stevens Fleming: Founding mother of the Harvard women astronomers
Annie Jump Cannon: Built a star catalog of more than 350,000 stars
Henrietta Swan Leavitt: Discovered a way to measure distances between stars
Antonia Caetana Maury: Developed a new system for classifying stars
Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin: Called the most brilliant astronomer of her generation
Helen Sawyer Hogg: Canada's favorite astronomer for fifty years
Margaret Burbidge: Described the way chemical elements form in stars
Nancy Roman: Pioneered radio astronomy and orbiting observatories
Beatrice Tinsley: A brilliant career cut tragically short
Jocelyn Bell Burnell: Discovered quasars
Margaret Geller: Found structure in the Universe
Carolyn Shoemaker: Looks for comets that threaten Earth
Sally Ride: Astrophysicist and first U.S. woman in space
Jill Tartar: Searches for extra-terrestrial life
Wendy Freedman: Builds big telescopes and settles Hubble Constant

Spanning in time from around 2350 BCE to the present, this is a book that's perfect for anyone interested in astronomy, but especially young girls. They'll be sure to find plenty of wonderful information and inspiration within the pages of this book, which can only be a good thing.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

Reviewed by Avery Largent (9) for Reader Views (5/08)

"Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars" is an exciting book of many tales of (yeah, you guessed it!) amazing women astronomers throughout time. Starting with EnHeduanna, born 2350 BC, and ending with Jill Cornell Tarter, born 1944, this book leads you through an exciting track of those historic women who became astronomers, despite what troubles come in their way.

At first glance, "Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars" seems like a boring old science book. But if you take a closer look, you'll see it's an exciting and inspiring book. I think all girls who hope to be scientists or astronomers should read it. In the stories, it doesn't just talk about the women and about how they did certain things, it also explains the science behind their discoveries. In one spot, it shows how astronomers use physical constants. The speed of light is one constant astronomers use, and I found that part a very interesting read. When the author explains things, you feel like you're a scientist yourself, sitting in a science lab and learning to be an astronomer alongside these other great women.

Author Mabel Armstrong is obviously an expert in science. She knows so much about each astronomer, you might have thought she had been friends with every one of these fantastic women. Beside her knowledge, her musical, descriptive words tell inspiring stories. The women in the story show spirit, bravery, and determination. Most of the women in the stories are unsupported by their families just because they are women. They were not taken seriously. When the astronomers were interviewed in their time periods, they were asked silly and personal questions that sometimes didn't even relate to space, like, "Do you cry when you get angry?" However, the women always just ignored their skeptics, and they worked hard to become what they had aimed to be. Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to follow the lead of these amazing women.

I would recommend "Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars" to my friends, and I am excited to reread the book. It's a real page-turner; the exciting tales keep you reading for hours on end. I hope every girl who wants to be an astronomer at least once reads these engrossing stories. I'm looking forward to reading whatever Mabel Armstrong comes out with next.

I love this book and wish it had been published when I was a kid and interested in science. I wish it had been published when my kids were young. It's the perfect book to read aloud or for smart kids, maybe fourth through middle school readers. (There's enough great information and good writing and organization that even high school readers should find this book a useful introduction to women in sciences.)

The book is very nicely organized and leads the reader on a discovery of women astronomers from 2000 years back to today. There are illustrations and sidebars and photographs and it's the kind of book you can thumb through or read cover to cover (as I did).

The book is very readable and thoughtfully designed. It's indexed and organized into sections that tell the history of women in science. The table of contents lists the chapters and a subtitle and a bit about each scientist, so, for example, Chapter 7 is about "Exhilarating Discoveries, Painful decisions, and one of the women-of three-profiled in this chapter is Beatrice Tinsley: A brilliant career cut tragically short.

I recommend this book. It's a course in women's studies, never didactic, highly entertaining, and informative.

I bought this book for my daughter a few months ago when she turned 5, and she loves it. It has beautiful illustrations and only one page with info per planet (and sometimes another page for the planet's moons), so it's easy to read. The language is simple enough for a little kid to understand. It also talks about comets, Oort clouds and other solar systems. I like it so much that I've bought a few more for birthday presents.

Recently, modern astronomers came to a new consensus on how to view the solar system: the relatively tiny celestial body Pluto no longer qualifies as a planet, but is rather a "dwarf planet", and at least two more celestial bodies in our solar system (Ceres and Eris) deserve to be called "dwarf planets" as well. 11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System is an up-to-date look at the planets for inquisitive young minds, filled with fun facts about the eight planets, Pluto the dwarf planet, various planetary moons, Ceres and the asteroid belt, the Kuiper belt and Eris, and more. Illustrated with space photography as well as breathtaking artwork, 11 Planets is a simple yet fascinating look at the scientific wonders beyond Earth, highly recommended for children's library collections.

If a third-grader were to ask you how many planets there are in our solar system, how would you answer? Back before August of 2006, it would be pretty simple -- nine: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Ceres, which is found between Mars and Jupiter, was once considered a planet, but in 1850 was reclassified as an asteroid.

Growing up in the 1970s and 80s, I looked forward with excitement to the possibility that they would, some day, discover a tenth planet, way out there in the icy wastes beyond Pluto. In 2005, they announced just that -- the discovery of the body now known as Eris, just a tad bigger than Pluto, but three times farther away from the Sun.

And then, after lots of arguing back and forth, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in August of 2006 decided to lump Ceres, Pluto and Eris into a special new category of their own, the "dwarf planet". So now, you'd tell that third-grader that there are eight planets -- unless you include the dwarfs.

Basically, the scientists are still arguing about exactly what they mean by a "dwarf planet". Meanwhile, author David A. Aguilar, along with his publisher, National Geographic, made his own decision -- as shown in the newly released book "11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System". I first learned about it when National Geographic announced that a girl named Maryn Smith, of Montana, came up with a nifty new mnemonic for learning the 11 planets: "My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants". This appears at the very start of the new book.

Now, I'm a bit older than the target age group of ages 9 to 12, but enjoyed flipping through the pages. The book does an excellent job of giving the basic solar system layout in easily understood terms. First, there's the four terrestrial planets, then Ceres and the asteroid belt, then the four gas giants, and finally Pluto, Eris and the Kuiper Belt. And a little bit about the Oort Cloud, meteors, comets and planets around other suns. And our own Sun, of course.

Each section has a little discussion of the god, or goddess, the planet was named after (such as Ceres, the goddess of agriculture), along with nice drawings of the planet and its moons, if any. Included are some interesting facts, such as Jupiter's Giant Red Spot having existed for hundreds of years, or that Uranus is on its side, not more or less upright like the other planets. There are separate sections for Earth's moon, as well as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. In back is a handy glossary and a table showing how much children of various sizes would weigh on various planets -- at least, those with a solid surface.

To give your budding astronomer some idea of the relative sizes of the planets, there's a fun list of ingredients you can buy from the store (a grapefruit, an orange, peas, a cherry tomato, a grape, some sugar, baking soda and salt) and how you can lay them out -- if you don't mind walking 1000+ yards to get to where Eris would be on that scale.

The one thing that might prove controversial is the author's decision to actually number the dwarf planets in among the bigger ones. Thus, Ceres is the fifth planet, Pluto the tenth and Eris the eleventh. Aguilar skips the more technical aspects of the IAU's decision, such as the fact the dwarf planets "fail to clear their neighborhood". He prefers to simply classify the planets by their size: small, medium and large. Given the book's target audience, that's just as well. Personally, I like his approach.

As more dwarf planets are added to the list, as is very likely, it may become increasingly unwieldy. I doubt anyone but the most die-hard future astronomer would want to memorize fifteen or twenty planets, never mind several dozen. But eleven is a nice number, and will do for now.

Have you ever wondered how people think of God in another world? In the book Passages; Darein's Rise by Paul McCuster, two yuong children, Kyle and Anna were venturing through an old abandoned huose when they found themselves in a diffrent world. Kyle ends up in a castle and Anna ends up in King Lawrence's closet. Both are surprised, they didn't know where they were. Soon they find out they were in Marus. Marus is on a world that has two moons, one was white and the other was a light orange. Marus is also a country that stroungly beleives in the Unseen One. Thruogh out the story the King goes mad and looses his faith in the Unseen One, which causes him to want to kill his best general. Kyle and Anna were sent by the Unseen One as a protector and a vioce. kyle is the protector and Anna is the vioce. Kyle keeps getting these weird feelings and Anna keeps having these wierd dreams. Eyes of two colors in Marus means you were sent by the Unseen One as a vioce. Will Kyle and Anna ever make it home? Does the King succeed in his plot to kill the general? To find out I invite you to read Passages; Darein's Rise by Paul McCuster.

I thought this book was a great re-telling of the King Saul and David story.I can't wait to read the next one! I think Darien's a great charactor. I'm 11 years old and I loved this book.

A cool new way to learn the story of David ("Darien") from the Old Testament, while also touching the "Other Worlds" lobe that makes things like this, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings books so cool.

Kyle and Anna accidentally stumble into the world of Marus while exploring an old shack in the woods. Each is quickly caught up in the action from different sides, while trying to figure out what in the world happened. They soon discover they're under the protection of the Unseen One, known in our world as God.

I began reading this book, and I honestly couldn't put it down; fortunately, it was on a weekend! It's pretty awesome, because instead of a slingshot, Darien uses a pocket knife. Instead of a sword, Darien uses a pistol and a saber. Marus is in a Western type of time frame for this story, and that is one thing that helps this book to work so well.

I'm already a fan of Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey, and this book contains some elements of the series, but it can function on its own, for sure.

If you like this one (and I can almost promise you will), you'll want to check out the other five titles.

If you like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, you will love this book. Fabulous!

Draven's Defiance. The story of a young man named Scott who found himself in the world you probably already know a little about, since you're looking up this book: Marus.

Confused and bewildered, he joins company with Draven, an individual who bears the mark of one chosen by the Unseen One as His servant: eyes of two different colors.

Scott eventually learns from Draven that, by the power of the Unseen One, judgment has been handed out on Marus in the form of time standing still. It is Perpetually Autumn, grass does not grow, people do not age. It is judgment against the apostate leader, Mobeck, and his wicked queen Skalaw. Scott finds himself headed, along with Draven, for a showdown with the corrupt leaders to vie for the hearts of the peoples of Marus. Will Scott join with Draven's Defiance?

Another very enjoyable tale about the fictional world of Marus, weaved by Adventures in Odyssey's Paul McCusker. It tells the Biblical story of Elijah in a refreshing way, a new environment that makes the story come to life anew. There's a few new spins on this story (Draven escapes with Scott on a motorcycle, and the judgment handed out is different from the God's No-Rain judgment in the Bible. A famine, however is a consequence of time standing still)

Another great read by the same great author, and I consider it worth the money. My only regret is that there are only six in this series.

This is a great retelling of the story of elijah and Elisha. Icant wait to read the next one.

well written good illustrations. very good story.

My son was so taken by the Alistair stories that even at age 11 he reads them often. Ok, too easy for an 11 year old, but he still loves them, and it's become a tradition for me to read Alistair in Outer Space to him at least once a month. I had to buy three of them used (and expensive!) but it was well worth it! Don't miss any of these books!

My son, Alistair, received this well-read book from his cousins when he was too young to appreciate it. We just unearthed it a couple of months ago and it gets just as many laughs from both of us each time we read it. I wish all the Alistair books were more available--not only because of the common name, but because of the great humor for both adults and kids. It is a rare gift for an author to be able to incorporate humor that is appreciated by the children and on a whole different level by the adults who read the stories to them.

Really something to see! If you've been to NASA or not , this is the best way to show someone the shuttle parts! And the size--WOW!

This is a great item for kids and interested adults as well. The engineering to design this is amazing. The details are good and at a scale that is impressive and easy to comprehend. The shuttle is a bit hard to unfold the first few times and you have to be careful with it as it is fragile (I would only buy this for a child if an adult were supervising the play). I would use a couple of hardcover books or small objects of similar weight to hold down the edges of the opened shuttle construct, then it is easier to examine and operate the various details. I got this for my 7 year old nephew and he thinks it's awesome.

David Hawcock has done it again. This time, he squeezed a 4-foot long space shuttle in a book ! Unfold the book and out pops, a gigantic space shuttle ! Busting with facts, this novelty book encourages any kids who hate to read, read as they play with the space shuttle. This fantastic book can be hung on the wall, great for classrooms or the home.