I absolutely adore writing about space and the universe in my children’s picture books. I love imagining all the amazing mind-blowing things that could be out there, from the wonderful colours to the amazing aliens!
As well as going there in my imagination though, I love to learn about ‘real life’ space.
Learning about what’s out there is absolutely fascinating… the only thing I find even more amazing is learning about what might be out there!
My favourite things to learn about and imagine are parallel universes, aliens, and time travel. Hence the themes in my books!
If you want to dabble in learning more about the universe, or buy the perfect gift for the space cadet in your life, there are some fantastic books on space and the universe for kids.
I’ve selected four of the best for your consideration!
The first two are for older kids (and also great for adults to be honest) and the second two are for pre-schoolers.
Happy reading!…
Knowledge Encyclopedia Space!: The Universe as You’ve Never Seen it Before (By DK)
This is basically the ultimate space encyclopedia for kids!
It’s beautifully presented and such a lovely good quality book to own. Most importantly, there is so much information in it and so many stunningly beautiful CGI images.
The wealth of information is put forward in a very ‘user friendly’ format, with easy to read explanations, diagrams and infographics.
With that said though, this is most definitely an older kid’s space book and is also an excellent reference book for adults.
I always find it difficult to put an age recommendation on children’s books (including my own!) because kids just vary so much, but if I had to I’d say this one is suitable from age 8 upwards.
But if you’re a younger kid or you’re buying for someone under 8, don’t necessarily let that put you off – my daughter is younger and loves it.
Basically just shoot over to Amazon, take a look at the images of the book (there are lots), and judge for yourself!
If in doubt I’d say just buy it! It’s a wonderful book.
You can get it on Amazon here.
The Mysteries of the Universe: Discover the best-kept secrets of space (by Will Gater)
I LOVE this book!
It’s just so beautiful and inspiring.
The presentation is amazing, from the enchanting artwork and photography to the gold-tipped pages, yet it’s still packed full of captivating space secrets!
I’ve just bought this for my elder daughter for her birthday and I’m sure she’s going to love it – and if not it will take pride of place on my own bookshelf!
The format of the book is a bit different from your standard information text, in so far as it’s presented in a kind of story-book style, which I think works really well.
Again, it’s difficult to put an age bracket on this as I don’t want to be limiting or put anyone off since it’s such a fantastic book!
But since I’m trying to be helpful, I’ll go with age 6 right up to adult!
Really, I can’t recommend it enough.
You can get it on Amazon here.
What are stars? (by Katie Daynes)
Amazon, £6.99 (lift-the-flap book)
My first pre-schooler choice is What are stars? by Katie Daynes.
There are over 30 flaps to lift to find the answers to intriguing questions all about the stars and the night sky, with absolutely gorgeous illustrations to accompany them.
I would say that this is a great choice for kids from around 2 years old, up to about 5. Obviously the younger tots aren’t going to be taking in the actual information very much, but I think they’ll still love lifting the flaps and looking at the beautiful pictures.
It’s never too soon to start becoming inspired by the beauty of space!
You can get it on Amazon here.
Look Inside: Space (by Rob Lloyd Jones)
Amazon, £6.99 (lift-the-flap book)
And my final choice is another beautiful ‘lift the flap’ space book for kids aged around 3 – 5 years old.
The illustrations are beautiful, and I think it has just the right amount of information to begin captivating young minds.
The lift-the-flap format makes it really fun to read together, and I think it’s perfect as a fun introduction to the planets, stars and solar system for little astronauts of the future!
You can get it on Amazon here.
And that’s the lot!
I hope you’ve found this little round up helpful and that one of these books will find a home on your bookshelf. They really are all lovely books and they all make it really easy and fun to learn about space and the universe.
And if you’re feeling inspired to start finding out some spacey-stuff while you wait for your book to arrive, why not hop over to my posts on parallel universes or aliens?!