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The ABC Book of Rockets, Planets and Outer Space

Oct26
The ABC Book of Rockets, Planets and Outer Space

The ABC Book of Rockets, Planets and Outer Space

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ABC Book of Rockets, Planets and Outer Space

Helen Martin & Judith Simpson

Cheryl Orsini

ABC Books, 2019

26pp., big book, RRP $A39.99

9780733340062

As soon as they are old enough to notice the difference between day and night, perhaps even before that when they first ask “Why is the sky blue?”, little people have questions about space.  This book with its rhyming text, provides the first introduction to that mysterious world beyond our planet.

Designed to help little ones become more observant, such as looking at the changing phases of the moon, it also encourages their imagination as they think about what it might be like to land on the moon.

Now in big book format so it can be shared with groups it is perfect for preschoolers with questions! 

Little Kids First Board Book: Space

Aug20
Little Kids First Board Book: Space

Little Kids First Board Book: Space

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Kids First Board Book: Space

National Geographic Kids, 2019

24pp., board book,RRP $A14.99

9781426333149

Little people have endless questions about their world, once they begin to explore it, and the world of the night sky is particularly fascinating.  So this latest publication from Nat Geo Kids which explores the basics of the solar system with amazing photographs, super-simple facts, and lively, age-appropriate language is perfect to introduce the very youngest to what is out there and spark both  their curiosity and imagination.

So often the board book format is restricted to learning the alphabet, colours and counting or to simple stories, so to have non fiction available in a way that it will stand up to little hands is a bonus. Let them learn that they can learn from books as well as the screen.

Space on Earth

Aug13
Space on Earth

Space on Earth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Space on Earth

Dr Sheila Kanani

Alma Books 2019

1287pp., pbk., RRP $19.99

9781846884559

The 50th anniversary of man stepping on the moon and the declaration by President Trump that they will be back there by 2024 with NASA’s Project Artemis has again ignited the debate about the cost of space exploration and whether the money could be better spent back here on this planet. 

So the publication of this new book from Dr Sheila Kanani, a British astronomer with a particular interest in Saturn, is very timely because it examines how the discoveries in space have been translated back into everyday objects on Earth.  It is full of amazing facts about everyday innovations, from drills and dustbusters to bike helmets,  that have been inspired by space travel and includes sections on the people who brought them to us,

Divided into three sections – technology, health and fashion – it examines objects as diverse as baby blankets, artificial limbs and skiwear, examining how their development is related to space exploration as well as a short piece about the scientist who imagineered the development.

Intriguing and offering much food for thought that could spark further investigations. 

Touch the Moon

May16
Touch the Moon

Touch the Moon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touch the Moon

Phil Cummings

Coral Tulloch

 A&U Children’s, 2019

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760523657

July 21, 1969 seemed like a pretty ordinary winter’s day in much of Australia and elsewhere.  Smoke drifted from chimneys, ice clung to the windscreens of cars, breakfast was served, dogs waited to be walked… But there was something different about this day. In the days before breakfast television was the norm, televisions were turned on and tuned in to an event happening a quarter of a million miles away and the whole world was focused on it.  Man was about to touch the moon!

But as life slowed in anticipation, something else began to happen.  For the first time in the tiny town of Peterborough, 200 km north of Adelaide, snowflakes began to fall. The dilemma between watching world history, indeed space history, being made and playing in snow for the first time ever was such a tough decision to make.  Which will win?

As we lead up to the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, this is the author’s autobiographical account of a momentous day in history, both for the world and for him. He was torn between going out to play in the snow or watching the events unfolding on television but even if it hadn’t snowed in Peterborough it was still such a momentous day that there would be few who were alive then and are alive now who can not remember where they were and what they witnessed.  And that is the purpose of his writing the story – for older generations to “share with children their experiences and memories and encourage children to ponder and be excited by the endless possibilities in their future.” 

Beautifully written and superbly illustrated the story inspires the reader to think about what a whole new world would look like for them. Would it be seeing snow, the ocean, the city or the desert for the first time? Would it be imagining what the world would be like on the centenary of the anniversary in 2069? Would it be having a brother or sister or being disease-free or something else they longed for that would be life-changing? Have they already experienced such a change? So much scope for talking and writing and dreaming, pondering and wondering just as Cummings wanted!

 

Moonwalkers

May15
Moonwalkers

Moonwalkers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moonwalkers

Mark Greenwood

Terry Denton

Puffin, 2019

32pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9780143793557

July 21, 1969 and like so many Australian children, Billy stared at the moon in amazement through his telescope wondering if it was really possible for man to land on the moon. Nearby, in a sheep paddock , a much larger telescope was also trained skywards as Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on board, made its historic voyage.  

For the three days between launch and landing Billy taught his little sister and brother all about how to be astronauts, building models, making spacesuits, using the bath to experience lunar gravity and recreating the Command Module in their bedroom. And as that large telescope in the field nearby beamed live pictures of the landing, the whole family sat transfixed in front of their television and watched and wondered. 

Man’s first landing on the moon was one of those momentous occasions in history when those who were alive can recall exactly where they were and what they were doing, and all collectively wondering whether the astronauts would make it back to Earth safely.  Greenwood and Denton have taken this event and woven the facts and details into a stunning story that will not only bring back memories for many but also introduce the emotions and intricacies of the event to new generations who take space exploration for granted, perhaps even having it on their to-do list. Using their own memories as the basis for the story- it was near Denton’s birthday and he was convinced it was some sort of special birthday present – they have created a story that shows the power of imagination coming true as generations of children throughout the centuries have looked at the moon and wondered “what if…?” What dreams will this story inspire?

A great story in itself, it is also the perfect springboard to investigating the event as the 50th anniversary approaches and there is also an activity pack to accompany it. 

The Race to Space

May14
The Race to Space

The Race to Space

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Race to Space

Clive Gifford

Paul Daviz

Words & Pictures, 2019

64pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781786038890

It is hard to believe that it is only a little over a century since the Wright Brothers made the first powered flight, achieving  a distance of 37 metres at an altitude of just three metres with the flight lasting just 12 seconds at the amazing speed of nearly 11km per hour, and now we take flight for granted with humans spending months in space in the International Space Station, vehicles landing on Mars and probes travelling to the deepest corners of the solar system.

Even though the earliest rockets were invented by China over 600 years ago, it wasn’t till the mid-20th century when the USSR launched Sputnik, the first manmade device to orbit the Earth, in 1957 and the US, the other world power to have emerged from World War II, were concerned that this would lead to the USSR having military control of space, that the race for the exploration of space really got going.

As the 50th anniversary of man first’s landing on the moon approaches, this new book traces the history of the space race from the launch of Sputnik to the moon landing with its early focus on the tensions between the US and the USSR, and concluding with the “handshake across space” in the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975 marking a new collaboration rather than competition.  Illustrated in full colour and spattered with quotes from significant participants of the times, this is a book for independent readers who want to know the stories behind the milestones and understand why it became a “race” with that word’s connotation of winners and losers. 

Another opportunity to revitalise your collection about this period of history that is really so recent that many staff and parents will remember it vividly. 

Space Race The Journey to the Moon and Beyond

May13
Space Race The Journey to the Moon and Beyond

Space Race The Journey to the Moon and Beyond

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Space Race The Journey to the Moon and Beyond

Sarah Cruddas

DK, 2019 

192pp., hbk., RRP $A34.99

9780241343777

For such a long time, people looked out into the blue sky of day and the black sky of night and wondered – what is out there? But to discover the answers was just a dream until the early 17th century when Galileo refined the work of Hans Lippershey and became the first to develop and use a telescope for astronomical purposes.  

While science fiction writers imagined and wrote about space travel, the real space race as modern generations know it began in October 1957 when the Russians launched a beach-ball sized object which they called Sputnik (“travelling companion”) and it became the first manmade device to orbit the earth. This astonished those in the US who believed they would be the first to be in space because they thought they were clearly much further ahead in both scientific research and military firepower, but now there was a clear threat that the USSR could achieve military dominance in space. And so the space race began with an impact that reached as far down as the elementary school curriculum and a new focus on the sciences.

Now the two countries work in relative harmony on the International Space Station and a host of other countries and companies are opening up space as a commercial and tourist destination. 

This new publication traces the origins and development of the space race  taking young, independent readers on a journey through the breakthroughs and the disasters, giving them an insight into the amazing changes that have taken place just during the lifetime of their grandparents, changes that have contributed to changes in their own lives as the technologies involved become commonplace in their world. Using diagrams, photographs and easily-accessible text major milestones and their implications are explored giving explanations and perceptions into why what has happened ‘out there” has relevance and importance for “down here”.

With the 50th anniversary of man’s first walking on the moon looming in July, there are many new publications about space and its race becoming available and this is the perfect opportunity to revitalise your collection with new, up-to-date resources. This is the perfect addition to that collection.    

Living In Space

Feb22
Living In Space

Living In Space

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living In Space

Lucy Bowman & Abigail Wheatley

Rafael Mayani

Usborne, 2019

32pp., hbk., RRP $A9.99

 9781474921831

With the 50th anniversary of man’s first steps on the moon approaching on July 20; the loss of the Mars Rover  after 15 years; and the Chinese landing a probe on the dark side of the moon space happenings are taking a prominent place in news bulletins this year and young minds start to think about what life in space might be like – something that is a distinct possibility for them.

Living In Space is from the Usborne Beginners series, a collection that is ideal for young readers to explore topics of interest as they are written in accessible language with lots of photographs and illustrations and supported by all the key cues and clues to support their independence in information literacy such as a contents page, index and glossary.  In it, they can learn about what it is like to work, eat and sleep in space with enough information to satisfy their initial curiosity and this, in turn, is supported by links to specifically chosen websites that will tell them more.  And if they want to learn about other aspects of space, they can search the Usborne Quicklinks site for “space” and find books and links to whatever they are curious about.

Up-to-date, easy-to-access and an in-demand topic make this a valuable addition to a collection that will get a lot of focus this year. 

 

The Awesome Book of Space

Nov22
The Awesome Book of Space

The Awesome Book of Space

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Awesome Book of Space

Adam Frost

Bloomsbury, 2018 

112pp., pbk., RRP $A12.99

9781408896501

Did you know that if you were an ancient Egyptian then your understanding of the sun’s journey across the sky would focus on a giant dung beetle called  Khepri who dug the sun out of the underworld in the East at dawn, rolled it across the sky and then pushed it back into the underworld in the evening? But if you were an Aztec you would know that there had been four suns before this one, which is called Tonatiuh, and without human sacrifices, it would refuse to move across the sky and all the crops would fail.

On the other hand, did you know that just one space suit (used on the ISS only about 25 times each) costs 40 times more than the top-of-the-line Rolls Royce car; or what would happen if you fell into a black hole?

These are the sorts of things covered in this intriguing book about space that is perfect for young readers who like to dig and delve and have their information presented in a graphic format rather than lots of text making it  accessible to readers at all levels of development.  Ranging across the sort of subjects that young readers like to ask questions about or surprise their parents with at the dinner table, this book answers questions like 

  • How many pairs of pants you’d need to pack to live in a space station for a year?
  • What the weather is like on Neptune?
  • How many tonnes of litter humans have left on the moon?

Written in the conversational tone of Splat the Fake Fact, young readers are invited to guess or research the answers to some of the articles such as which of a range of creatures has not made it into space, so that it becomes an interactive experience rather than just a passive reading one.  And with the range of topics covered, it offers a taster for everyone providing the boost to do some further research if the imagination is gripped, not just about space itself but also physics, geology, and a host of STEM topics. Just how many explanations did earlier civilisations have for the sun’s journey across the sky and how do they compare with what we know to be the case now that science has solved its mystery? 

Not only would this be a valuable addition to a library collection to inspire space enthusiasts, but it’s also the right size and price for popping in the Christmas stocking.   

 

Grandpa’s Space Adventure

Aug15
Grandpa's Space Adventure

Grandpa’s Space Adventure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandpa’s Space Adventure

Paul Newman

Tom Jellett

Viking, 2018

32pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9780143785569

“I’m afraid of the dark… But Grandpa says there’s nothing to be afraid of, so tonight we’ll be camping out.”

Grandpa is the ultimate grandpa for understanding little ones’ fears and ever since he taught his grandson to swim , you can sense that the bond has been growing and it’s time for the next big adventure.

He says that if you don’t have the dark you wouldn’t be able to see the stars, the planets or the moon and, snuggled into their tent, he launches into the most hilarious tale of the time he and his dog Rover went to the moon.  Building their rocket ship in the backyard (which meant Grandma couldn’t hang out her washing for weeks) there follows the most jaw-dropping adventure based on wicked puns which will tickle the adult reader’s fancy and make the young listener LOL. Everything from launch boxes and cooking unidentified frying objects not only make this funny but they distract the young boy from his fears as night falls and darkness creeps over the land.  

The tone for the book is set from the outset with the covers  showing the planets and constellations with their unique names; the endpapers with the phases of the moon just inviting questions about why it changes shape; to Jellett’s illustrations which add so much zing to the text  and you just know it is going to be a firm favourite in no time.  Grandpa’s solution to not getting burned when they undertake their trip to the sun is just perfect and you know that there is going to be much love and many tall tales to come (next one is about going on safari) as Newman and Jellett explore the very common fears of little people and exploit the special bond between grandfather and grandson to dispel them.  

Just perfect for sharing and encouraging young readers to share their fears and understand that they are not alone with them.