I chose this book because of the vibrant cover. This book is exactly what you need to know about the solar system. It’s a cute and humorous book. It also talks about astronauts which kids love and go crazy for. I think the illustrations are really good and this book is good for kids above 3. ( )

The cover of the book is what attracted me with its bright colors and fun cartoons, the inside of the book is also filled with tons of these. Each page discusses different parts of the universe stating questions and then explaining the answers. It discusses how everything moves, the stars, the sun, our moon, each planet, and even talks about the history of the Earth. The book also features a timeline and facts throughout. I think this would be a great standard book for the class room. ( )

Everything anyone would ever need to know about the solar system, is right within this book. I was surprised to see that this book basically covered just about everything mentioned in my college level astronomy class! I was even more surprised that Jupiter's famous moons were included in the bunch. Everything from scientists who made a historically changing impact, to all the planets and moons, to stars and asteroids, are all emphasized. Even a brief timeline of the birth of earth to modern day is given! Every topic is presented as a question, rather than a statement, which keeps a "curious" theme to the book, also multiple choice questions are occasionally presented, encouraging the reader to do some slight critical thinking. The book combines humor and education in a complementary manner which entertains the reader. The illustrations are also helpful, as well as usually witty in some manner. The author even includes a section on astronauts, which would surely fascinate a child and help them to imagine what it would be like to be in space. ( )

Summary
This is a very insightful and full of questions about all kinds of the things that deal with the solar system and astronomy. Everything from asteroids, meteoroids, crates, what stars are, to how the planets move are covered. Is in question-answer format and has fun illustrations.
Personal Reaction:
Would be a good tool to use in the classroom to go along with a theme or lesson plan.
Was a good book full of information.
Extension Ideas:
1. Break class into groups and have them pick a something that was presented in the book and do an oral report to the class.
2. Have children answer questions in a group discussion that were presented in the book. ( )

I sought refuge in this book recently while desperately trying to gain background knowledge on a first grade solar system unit I'm creating from scratch. The first few pages of this book taught me a lot-- AND reminded me of what I already knew and forgot. The format is very kid- and user-friendly (written in Q and A format). A lot of it is humorous ("Why is Earth like Baby Bear's porridge?") The facts are also written in simple, child- (and novice science teacher) friendly language. If the budget allows, I will be ordering this for my science classroom and/or library. The language of the facts, the format, and the colorful illustrations make the daunting topic of outer space and astronomy very fun and unintimidating. ( )