Indulge your children’s fascination with the universe with space books for kids!
This week I’m joining up with some fellow bloggers to create a rounded study unit on Star Wars. And I thought… nothing says Star Wars like learning about outer space!
You can find these space books for kids at your local library or purchase through the affiliate links provided for your convenience.
Space Books for Kids
My youngest son can’t get enough about outer space. In fact, one morning he woke me up on the dead and dark silence of the night and whispered to me, “Mom, if a star went supernova near a black hole, would the supernova destroy the black hole or would the black hole suck it up.” Seriously, folks. You can’t make this stuff up!
National Geographic Kids First Big Book of Space: This beautiful book is the latest addition to the National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book series. These colorful pages will introduce young children to the wonders of space, with colorful illustrations by David Aguilar and simple text that is perfect for beginning readers or for reading aloud. The book will explain basic concepts of space, beginning with what is most familiar to kids and expanding out into universe.
There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library): Au revoir, Pluto! In this newly revised, bestselling backlist title, beginning readers and budding astronomers are launched on a wild trip to visit the now eight planets in our solar system (per the International Astronomical Union’s 2006 decision to downgrade Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet), along with the Cat in the Hat, Thing One, Thing Two, Dick, and Sally. It’s a reading adventure that’s out of this world!
The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System: The fieldtrip to the planetarium is foiled when the museum turns out to be closed, but Ms. Frizzle saves the day. The Magic School Bus turns into a spaceship and takes the class on a trip zooming through the atmosphere, to the Moon, and beyond! With up-to-date facts about the solar system, revised for this edition.
What’s Out There?: A Book about Space (Reading Railroad): What is the sun made of? What causes night and day? Why does the moon change shape? Colorful collage illustrations and an easy-to-understand text bring planets, stars, comets, and the wondrous things out there in space right down to earth in a simple introduction to the solar system for young armchair astronauts.
Space: A Visual Encyclopedia: Featuring a wealth of never-before-published NASA photographs, charts, stories, and contributions by NASA astronauts and experts, Space: A Visual Encyclopedia is a comprehensive exploration of space from our nearest planets and stars to far-off galaxies.
Older than The Stars: How old are you?–Older than you think. In a way, we are all as old as the universe itself. In fact, every bit of every one of us was created in the Big Bang, billions of years ago. Stunning illustrations and lively verse tell the story of the cosmic connections that tie human beings to the beginning of the universe. Simple, informative prose provides additional facts.
Time For Kids Book of How: All About Space: TIME For Kids The Book of How: All About Space presents kids 8-12 years old with answers to the kinds of intriguing questions that appeal to their sense of curiosity. Colorful graphics, spectacular photos and clear, engaging diagrams will help answer questions such as: How do astronauts train? How does the sun stay hot? How do you launch a rocket? And many more.
TIME For Kids goes beyond just answering the question, and engages kids with hands-on activities at the end of each chapter that bring life to a topic or idea they just read about. The Book of How: All About Space is a must-have book to satisfy the most curious of kids.
ABC Universe (AMNH ABC Board Books): From an astronaut in space to Voyager, yellow dwarf, and zenith, this ABC board book opens up the entire universe to children! Created in tandem with the American Museum of Natural History, it takes kids on a photographic journey through comets, flares, and planets like Jupiter, and introduces them to black holes, supernovas, telescopes, and more. Perfect for the youngest astronomers.
Smart Kids Space: Open your eyes to a world of discovery with this amazing fact-packed book. From the Solar System to the Milky Way, from Mars to Mercury, from UFOs to the Space Shuttle, Space is an ideal first guide to the mysteries and wonders of our incredible universe. Written in an accessible and fun style, the informative text is perfectly complemented by visually stunning, large-sized, full-color photography. Perfect book to introduce children aged three and over to the fascinating world above us.
Good Night Galaxy (Good Night Our World): Many of the planet’s most beloved regions are artfully celebrated in these board books designed to soothe children before bedtime while instilling an early appreciation for the continent’s natural and cultural wonders. Each book stars a multicultural group of people visiting the featured area’s attractions and rhythmic language guides children through the passage of both a single day and the four seasons while saluting the iconic aspects of each place. Blasting into space, this board book explores the unique aspects of the Milky Way. Introducing children to the sun and planets, moons, asteroids, and comets of our solar system, this book also encompasses black holes, constellations, and binary stars.
Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos: When Carl Sagan was a young boy he went to the 1939 World’s Fair and his life was changed forever. From that day on he never stopped marveling at the universe and seeking to understand it better. Star Stuff follows Carl from his days star gazing from the bedroom window of his Brooklyn apartment, through his love of speculative science fiction novels, to his work as an internationally renowned scientist who worked on the Voyager missions exploring the farthest reaches of space. This book introduces the beloved man who brought the mystery of the cosmos into homes across America to a new generation of dreamers and star gazers.
Like these space books for kids? Find even more engaging book lists for kids with more than 100 book-themed reading lists!
Star Wars Study Unit
In addition to offering recommendations of space books for kids, I’ve teamed up with some fellow bloggers to offer you homeschool and in-class resources to teach kids about Star Wars and the rest of the galaxy!
Star Wars Letter Find Pack from 3 Boys and a Dog
Star Wars Craft Ideas from Schooling a Monkey
Star Wars Activity Books from Brain Power Boy
Let Your Space Ship Take Flight from Playground Parkbench
Light Saber Spelling from Parenting Chaos
Light Saber Color Matching from CraftCreateCalm
Star Wars Count and Clip Cards from Raising Little Superheroes
Kids in the Kitchen: Make Star Wars Themed Jigglers from Crafty Mama in ME
For more books about the science of Star Wars:
Find more FREE Study Unit Resources on Mommy Evolution!