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Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2020, Best Book with Facts category | Taken from the Blue Peter Awards website: This fascinating picture book is full of brilliant information for children about the lesser-known elements of space exploration and clues them in as to how they might aspire to be involved one day. It’s useful to learn that astronauts can come from a military, medical or scientific background and be able to speak Russian as well as English. They also need to be highly qualified in their subject, as well as very fit and healthy for all the physical and mental training they will encounter. Complete with a press-out model rocket to build and pages of stickers to play with, this is an original and inspiring read for young readers.
This blast of a book represents children’s non-fiction at its finest. It’s packed with inspirational interstellar facts about the first moon landing, all delivered in a well-considered, scrapbook-style design that enhances the subject matter, from the retro typewriter font, to the easy-on-the-eye information boxes. Covering everything from why the moon mission happened in the first place, to astronaut training, lift-off preparation, life on board, exploring the moon, and much more, the book’s USP is its emphasis on how it felt to be in Neil, Buzz and Michael’s moon boots. It provides answers to questions all space-obsessed kids will devour: how did the astronauts get to the moon? How did they go to the toilet? What did they eat? What were their space suits like? What work did they have to do on board? How did they actually land? With an inspiring introduction by Helen Sharman, the first Briton to travel to space, this is perfect for fact-loving young readers to launch into, and should be on the shelf of every school library.
The Universe is huge – it stretches further than we could ever imagine or explore, and contains everything in space, from super stars to galaxies to tiny pieces of dust. Packed with facts, diagrams, infographics and photos, this is the perfect introduction to space. Find out how the incredible work of astronauts like Tim Peake, astronomers and scientists have enabled us to discover so much about the universe. Perfect for any young reader who looks up at the night sky and wonders just what goes on out there.
A good first introduction to space, this book provides answers to questions children often ask, such as how big is the universe and how many stars are there in the Milky Way? Starting with information on how to get into space, and the planets nearest to Earth, it continues to cover the whole solar system. Language and explanations are clear and child-friendly, and author Steve Parker often relates what he is talking about to things children will be familiar with, so the surface of the sun at 6000 degrees Celsius is described as being 25 times hotter than a home oven, while we’re told that the Hubble Space Telescope is the size of a school bus. Full of information, this will inspire children to think about our solar system and what lies beyond it. ~ Andrea Reece
From the brilliant illustrator, Simon Tyler, comes a wonderful compendium of space, space travel and much more. One day our sun will grow...and grow...and grow...until it ends its life as a red giant 400x its current size. Wonder at facts like these, and much more, in the new illustrated guide to Space. Space is fascinating, and in this book Simon Tyler gorgeously illustrates the planets, meteors, rockets and galaxies - even strange phenomena like the speed of light and solar flares!
Informative, interactive, and fun, this book will appeal to all aspiring astronauts! Includes hand-eye coordination exercises, obstacle courses, how to deal with weightlessness and doing fiddly things while wearing big gloves! A Space Goodies section includes stickers, poster, press-outs, and a model space shuttle. One of a number of titles in the 'Academy' series. To go to our special 'Academy' series category click here.
This year sees the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, so interest in space exploration will be particularly high. Handsomely illustrated with Chris Nielsen’s bold retro images, and packed with information, Balloon to the Moon will answer all the questions any potential astronauts might pose. It covers the entire spectrum, from mankind’s first attempts to get off the ground via balloons in the 1700s to the space race as it developed in the 50s, 60s and 70s, with revealing descriptions of the personalities involved as well as the technology. It all makes for a fascinating story, and one that will appeal to readers of all kinds. Concluding with a page on space careers and the future of humankind’s exploration of our universe this is a book to inform and inspire.
With Cool Astronomy, you'll discover everything you need to know about the universe, from asteroids to the zenith point ...and almost everything in between! Learn amazing space-related tricks such as how to watch a solar eclipse safely and mapping stars from your own back garden, right down to expertly simplifying the supermassive numbers and distances involved in the space between space so you'll never forget them.
Told with crystalline clarity and verve, and fabulously enhanced by the stylish illustrations, this tells the remarkable against-the-odds tale of Katherine Johnson from her days as an exceptional African American schoolgirl whose “boundless curiosity turned her into a star student”. But despite her brightness, ten-year-old Katherine faced the terrible restraints of segregation – as an African American she wasn’t permitted to study at her local high school. As she “burned with fury”, her family determined to get Katherine the education she deserved and so they moved to a town with a high school for black students. Her path to working on Project Apollo required incredible perseverance, but thanks to that, and to her outstanding mathematical skills, the world could count on Katherine to set the moon landings back on course. Shot-through with a rousing sense of Katherine’s determination and dedication to her work, and with her shining mathematical brilliance, this beautiful book deserves to be on the shelves of every space-loving child.
Shortlisted for the 2018 Klaus Flugge Prize | Motum is definitely an illustrator to watch. Though this is an information book, you feel there is a story being told, with pace and animation. His work reminded the Klaus Flugge judges of iconic Czech illustrator M Sasek.
Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award 2017 - Best Books with Facts | September 2016 Fascinating Facts Book of the Month Astrophysicist and illustrator, both leaders in their field, here work together to give children a revealing and eye-opening tour of space. Beginning with the beginning of time itself, the Big Bang, and including topics such as dark energy, gravity and the life cycle of a star, there’s a huge amount of fascinating information in this book, presented clearly and succinctly. Dr Christopher Englert’s text is accessible, even when describing complex theories, and inspiring; Tom Clohosy Cole’s gleaming illustrations are beautiful to look at and support and expand the text. As an added bonus there’s a huge double sided poster too. ~ Andrea Reece
The Sky at Night presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock was bitten by the space bug as a kid and does an excellent job of passing on her passion in this inspiring book. She encourages us to copy Einstein in his ‘thought experiments’ and follow her on an imagined journey through space to the very edge of the Solar System. The book features amazing NASA photos alongside full colour illustrations and is packed with up-to-date information presented in blocks of text or via charts and diagrams. It does exactly what books like this should: answering all the questions readers will have, while inspiring them to future journeys of discovery.
How amazing that less than 100 years after the invention of the motor car, humans have built and launched vehicles that can leave the solar system. We’ve landed space probes on two planets, and visited Earth’s own moon six times. We’re living in the space age alright and this excellent book explains the fascinating story of space exploration clearly and vividly. From chapters looking at our solar system and its place in the universe, it goes on to explain how mankind found ways to look out into space, then how we worked out how to get there, and back again. There are chapters on surviving in space, and pages contemplating the possibility of establishing a human colony on Mars. The text is full of information but conveys a real sense of the wonders of space travel. Similarly Stephen Biesty’s cross-section illustrations are detailed, beautiful to look at and absolutely inspiring. ~ Andrea Reece
For budding astronomers and space enthusiasts this is the ultimate guide. Spectacular and state-of-the-art, this is the ultimate guide to the known universe. It is packed with dazzling images and unbelievable statistics including maps from our Solar System to the outer edges of space, constellation charts, cross-sections of asteroids and meteorites, images that capture exploding supernovas and distant galaxies. This book contains everything you need to know to navigate the night sky and to know all there is to know about the furthest reaches of the cosmos. It comes complete with a fold out poster of the universe and a CD, from which you’ll be able to print out lots of images found in the book. There is also a Children’s Encyclopedia of Earth in the same Templar ‘Insiders’ series and a Children’s Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs
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