Poor Pluto. Reclassified 10 years ago, no longer a planet. At least that’s the way one of my former students viewed it. While he had difficulty accepting what he considered to be Pluto’s demotion to dwarf-planethood, and my subsequent weeding of the astronomy titles, he continued to scour the shelves for new books (and, if the stars are aligned on this one, is probably on his way to becoming a scientist). While the good news is that with each passing year we know more about our cosmos, it does mean keeping an ever-vigilant eye on the Dewey 500s. Here are some new titles to fill those empty slots made by the books that have found their way into the bin.
Aldrin, Buzz with Marianne J. Dyson. Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet. (National Geographic Kids, 2015; Gr 4-7). Why Mars? In this book, a former astronaut and former NASA flight controller make a case for future habitation on the only other “world in our solar system that has everything we need.” Noting that “plans for building the first homes on Mars are already in progress,” the authors take space adventurers step-by-step through what it will take to get there (and why), what to “pack,” and life after arrival—from designing and building a home to growing food. Labeled illustrations of equipment, an illustrated time line of Mars exploration, color photographs, maps, and related activities (think science fairs) are all included. Lots of information and visuals are packed into this slim volume that is sure to engage both armchair travelers and science buffs.
Holland, Simon. Space. Rev. ed. Eyewonder Series. (DK, 2016; Gr 3-5). This revised edition of a 2001 title begins with a discussion of planet Earth, its composition, and its “place in space,” followed by a look at some of the tools that allow us to see beyond it. The sun and the planets—from Mercury to Neptune—are examined, each over a spread filled with colorful visuals with informative captions, paragraph-length information bites, and a “data zone” fact box. Other spreads consider “Pluto and the comets,” “The Milky Way,” and “Our future in space,” among other topics. Kids who enjoy a challenge can try a “True or False?” illustrated quiz or play the “Stargazing” game from start to finish by answering questions and proceeding on the route determined by those answers.
Nataraj, Nirmala. Earth Space: Photographs from the Archives of NASA. (Chronicle, 2015; Gr 9 Up). This glorious, pictorial tour of the universe opens with a foreword by everyone’s favorite science guy, Bill Nye, who rightly reminds readers of the fragility of our planet. Following an introduction by the author, more than 100 photos gleaned from NASA’s archives are showcased, beginning with photos depicting Earth from space (first captured by the Apollo program) and progressing through photos of the individual planets. Solar flares, nebulae, comet dust, satellite galaxies, and more are all here as well, in stunning color-enhanced images. Each picture is accompanied by a descriptive caption, offering information on the location of the phenomena, related planetary or interstellar history, and when and how the photo was taken. Don’t miss the 2013 image of the “violent shock wave” of a dwarf galaxy “colliding with a large spiral galaxy” 60 million light years from Earth. As the author notes, it’s an event “still happening and could go on for another forty million years.” Whoa.
Scott, Elaine. Our Moon: New Discoveries about Earth’s Closest Companion. (Clarion, Feb. 2016; Gr 5 -10). From the ancient legend of Chang-o and the pyramids built in its honor to early theories shaped before scientific instruments and information delivered from current sophisticated technology, Scott explores humankind’s fascination with and understanding of our Moon. The focus of the book is on the successes (and failures) of recent research and what scientists have learned from them, including the exciting discovery of water on Earth’s satellite and its thin “exosphere.” Included is an excerpt of a NASA transcript of the conversation between astronauts David Scott and James Irwin and Mission Control at the moment they discovered the Genesis Rock, the oldest specimen found on the Moon, which geologists estimate was formed 4.5 billion years ago at the “very beginning of our solar system.” Will habitation of the Moon be possible in the future? That, too, is addressed in the book, with Scott reporting on that front. Color photos (many full page), drawings, and reproductions, and informative fact boxes enhance the presentation.
Space! The Universe as You’ve Never Seen It Before. DK 2015. Gr 5 Up. This visual guide to our solar system and beyond offers a splendid combination of colorful photos, drawings, cutaways, time lines, and infographics that illuminate what we know about the universe and the tools and equipment we are using as we seek to learn more. The book begins with a look at the Sun and planets in our solar system, with information on minor bodies (asteroids, comets, moons, and dwarf planets), moving on to stars, galaxies, and space exploration. Kids will especially be fascinated with the large, labeled cutaway illustrations of various spacecraft and equipment such as the Vostok 1, a lunar lander, the rover Spirit, a spacesuit, a space station and more. A guide to stargazing is included.
Young, Karen Romano. Space Junk: The Dangers of Polluting Earth’s Orbit. Lerner, Jan. 2016. Gr 7 Up. When we look to the skies, its generally celestial bodies we think about, not rubbish. Space is so vast, should we really be worrying about whether it is polluted? According to scientists who have “identified at least 100 million pieces of space debris,” debris that has the potential to collide with and damage operating spacecraft or reenter Earth’s atmosphere, we should not only be concerned about it; we need to fast pedal technologies that can begin to remove it. From a description of a 1993 space collision of two satellites—one an operating American satellite, the other a defunct or “zombie” Russian satellite—to a call for governmental oversight to some of the recent proposals and test programs to address the issue, Young takes a square look at an increasingly pressing problem.