Children's Space Books Books

Gail Gibbons book on the planets contains just a little bit more information than most young children's books on the subject. From information on how and why planets and stars look differently in the night sky to the distances of each planet from the sun, there's more for curious minds to ponder.

The book begins by explaining a few difference between stars and planets. It continues with how the planets were named and the later discovery of the outer three. Then our solar system, orbits and rotations are discussed.

Each planet is then explained in detail. The book does a nice job of choosing facts to present and keeping the topics consistent from planet to planet. Each planet's distance from the sun, relative size, length of day and year and are included. When appropriate moons are mentioned. Unlike many other young children's books on the planets, information on some of the more well-known moons of other planets is given. Considering the target audience of the book, the information is nicely comprehensive.

Toward the end of the book astronomers and space craft are very briefly mentioned. No information on space travel is included. As the title implies, the book focuses on information about the planets.

The illustrations are nicely done; the book contains no photographs. The drawings, however, are very detailed and present the planets in a nice perspective. They are very well done.

My five year old daughter loves this book as it's concise and easy for her to read. She loves to learn the details of each planet and how many moons they have. This however is where our first problem arose. The book reports that Jupiter has 63 moons, and then on the following page states that Saturn has 36 moons "more than any other planet." Even a five year old knows that 36 isn't more than 63. Lesson learned: Don't believe everything you read." FYI: Saturn has 47 moons to date.

Only four short stories packaged as "novels" into this new juvenile series, and it's already feeding off itself. Here's a retread of the second "novel", ROBOT OLYMPICS, except this time the fellers are building small jets souped up with rocket boosters, instead of building fighting robots. As usual Andy Foger is the bad guy, but the REAL bad guys are, well, you know, that anti-technology terrorist group which seems to have replaced Brungaria or whatever it was. There are no surprises. I found it difficult to picture an audience (or even a target age group) for this series. And Tom-as-narrator is very hard to get used to. And Bud Barclay could really be annoying if he set his mind to it. Wonder what the sales have been so far?

These books are good. The stories are quick and short and full of science and adventure. They're great for young boys and girls just getting into science fiction and if you just want something fun.

All Stewart wants for his 13th birthday is for his father to sign his application to Space Academy Camp so that he can learn how to be a spacer, like his video hero Val Thorsten was. And like his mother was. Until she died. But his father is on the moon, and it doesn't look like he'll be back in time to sign the application.

When Stewart meets an aging spacer at the Old Spaceport after a disturbing session with his counselor, things begin to change. He is shanghaied to the moon on a secret mission with a pilot he knows nothing about. On the journey, without the help of a brainwashing counelor, fragments of memory around the death of his mother resurface for him until he is faced with the truth.

Michael Daley has created a totally believable future world in space, paying such close attention to detail that the reader is completely able to suspend reality and travel in the co-pilot's seat to the moon.

Though not an avid reader of science fiction, I was rivited to this novel. For me, the setting was an interesting backdrop to the real suspense of the plot: who is this spacer, why does he need Stewart, what is is mission, what really happened when Stewart's mother died, nnd, most importantly, will Stewart make it home?

A great read for anybody who likes a fast paced adventure and coming of age story, spiced with a realistic view of what future space travel might look like.

Michael J. Daley's new book, SHANGHAIED TO THE MOON, starts of with plenty of adventure and more intrigue than I'd expected. Thirteen-year-old Stewart Hale wants to be a space pilot like his mom, but she was killed in a fiery crash that he can't quite remember. That's part of the whole mystery that unfolds throughout the novel.

The first-person narrative adds extra tension and interest as we hear Stewart's story as he presents it. From the beginning of the session with the virtual counselor, I knew something was going on behind the scenes. So did Stewart. As he dug more into the mystery surrounding his life and his mother's tragic death, I got more interested.

When he met the washed-up spacer who offered him a chance to crew aboard his spaceship to the moon, I knew the adventure was about to become even more exciting. The guy doesn't tell Stewart everything, but he tells him enough to make him paranoid about what's going to happen to him if he doesn't come along for the trip.

Once in space, Stewart's life is balanced on a knife-edge of danger. Daley also throws in a lot of interesting tidbits about space travel and offers speculation about how space exploration is going to progress.

SHANGHAIED TO THE MOON is a great, compact read that will keep young readers nailed to their seats to see the adventure through to the end and solve the mystery. Kids (and adults who read kids' books) will find a welcome break from all the fantasy novels that are filling the shelves lately. Strap in and blast off!

From the back of the Pacesetters edition -
Getting There Had Been Easy . . . Getting Out Would Be Something Else
An unexplored world deep in the jungles of Peru. A lost world with a secret no one from the outside must ever learn.
But now Frank Pellon and Ed Duval knew the secret of Silvabamba. And, if they could not find a way back out, they would pay with their lives for knowing.

The Pacesetters series is high interest reading for those who have literacy problems, or who just have a reluctance to read. The reading level for these books is between 2 and 3. Many of these books are mentioned in reference material concerning High/Low materials.

This was my best book when I was little.What I like about this book was that it was interesting it had a lot of mystery.

A cute story about a little boy who finds himself irritated by all the noise at home when he's trying to go to sleep. He zooms off to the moon to get away from the bog barking, the baby crying, the beeping cars and whatnot. The moon is quiet, but lonely, so he zooms back again, just in time to say goodnight to his parents. The fantasy element is nice, with the same sort of surrealistic silliness as Crockett Johnson's classic "Purple Crayon" books, although the story somehow isn't as satisfying as it might have been. Worth checking out, especially if you have a future astronaut in your house. (ReadThatAgain!)

My 6 year old son is really into astronauts and space and loves this book. It is a perfect bedtime story about a little boy who has to go to bed but it is too noisy in his house so he gets in his rocket and takes off for the moon for a little peace and quiet. He has a picnic while there and by the time he returns it is all quiet in his house and he is ready to go to bed. It is a sweet, nice book with wonderful illustrations. I highly recommend this book for anyone with a little boy with an imagination and thinks it would be cool to go to the moon.

The book I read is called Space Dog and Boy by Natalie Stanndiford. This book is about Space Dog and a boy named Roy. He was a space man and he had to act like a dog. This book was good because there was some crazy stuff in it. It was good because I like the characters they were really funny. The message the author shared was that just because he looked like a regular dog but he really wasn't. This is a funny book about a dog named Space Dog.

This book was a good, quick read, and pretty funny too. I would recommend it to other 2nd graders looking for a short good book for a book report.

The story begins at a train station in New York city. A teacher and her class are going on a field trip to Utah. As they travel further and further from New York, they look out the window and see earlier and earlier periods of time. In Philadelphia, they see horse-drawn carriages and women in long skirts. In Pittsburgh Civil War Union soldiers board the train. By the time they reach Utah, they are in prehistoric times.

I checked this book out of the library after hearing about it on Reading Rainbow. After reading it to my 3 and 5 year olds, I realize that this was really not for their age-group. Too many conclusions must be drawn by looking at the pictures. It left them thinking, "I don't get it." Maybe I'll try again when they're older.

This is a very fun story with beautiful pictures. My 2.5 year old loves both trains and dinosaurs so I feel very lucky to have found this book!

Venus loves bodybuilding and commercials, and then she signs for ... The Comets soccer team. At first she has no self-confidence, then she boots the ball as far as she can and it goes farther then anyone else can kick it -- not with aim but with power. Then she gains more respect, confidence and strength. Now she has but one goal: to be number one.

First the book has some action, and then it builds up as you go. I thought it was well written and had a good plot -- clear and realistic. I felt myself getting excited when it got to the soccer parts. The descriptions of the field and people were pictorial and real. Even though the cover looks girly the book is really not - it's for sports people.

Nine-year-old Venus Macguire is anxious to give up all she has in order to receive a spot on the 4th grade soccer team, the Comets. But Venus's mother has other plans. When Venus's mother was 10, she had received an award for modeling, and she wants Venus to follow in her footsteps. At first Venus continues to visit soccer practice, but when the Comets' first game comes, her mother notifies her that on the same day she must model at the opening of the brand new toy store, called OH! BOY! TOYS! Venus goes to drastic measures to get exactly what she wants.

Although short, this book is about 70 percent exciting. The first part 35 pages of the book are fairly boring, but I suggest you read it until the end. The beginning is her experience at the Comets soccer practice and meeting her teammates. I want to mention to the boys who are reading my review that most people might think this is a girly book -- it has a pink cover with a picture of a girl in a ballet outfit and cleats, and the jacket flap says it's about a kid who is a supermodel, but then decides she wants to play soccer. But it's not a girly book -- it could just as easily be a boy who does one thing and has a parent who wants him to do something else.

This book is really about astrology, and scientists who study the solar system. I was looking for a book to explain to my preschooler why Pluto is no longer considered a planet. You have to read the whole book (and long explanations of a long list of astronomers from the 1500s to today)to get to the 3 pages that explain why scientists no longer consider it a planet.

This would be more suitable for a middle school child interested in the subject as a whole - it doesn't focus on Pluto.

Elaine Scott is one of the best non-fiction writer's writing for kids today. She's a great storyteller, but her stories are true. This is the first post-Pluto demotion book to truly explain what happened to poor Pluto. But beyond that, Scott explains how scientists decide which of the celestial bodies is a planet and which are lesser pieces of turf. Especially great reading for boys (ages 8-14)!

The actual reading and stories are accurate and valuable information. Many experiments and activities are not very clear or able to be performed as written. This is a better book for reading and the wonderful photographs.

My daughter had to do a book report last year on the Wright Brothers. This was a great historical book that was very readable to any child older than 9 years of age. I also read the book myself as I find this topic interesting and was very impressed with the history and activities this book introduced. I believe it was a perfect mixture of reading and activities to show the practical application of what you had just learned. My daughter and I both loved it. This book will definately increase the facination towards flying or at least give one an appreciation as to how far we've come in flight travel.