A Is for Astronaut: Exploring Space from A to Z

by Sara Gillingham, Traci N. Todd

Learning about space has never been so much fun! An out-of-this-world mix of vintage illustrations and contemporary photos makes this book about space as entertaining to look at as it is to read. With simple information about everything from the planets to animals in space, to the food astronauts eat, A Is for Astronaut is sure to excite young readers' natural curiosity and imagination.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Science

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 2006

Reviews

[Audrey's Picture Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was never an inspired book to begin with. It was mediocre at best. On top of that, it contains a couple of inaccuracies so glaring that even I, humanities person that I am, managed to spot them. First, the sun is not, as stated in its entry under the letter S, a "large star" by any scientific standard. Moreover, under the entry for "orbit," it depicts the planets as having circular orbits, despite the fact that we've known them to be elliptical since the 1600s. Add to that the fact that it's also obsolete (referring to Pluto as the ninth planet) and it truly has no redeeming qualities. How can we wonder why our kids aren't any good at science when tripe like this passes for a children's science book? There are legions of genuinely good space books out there. Please buy one of them for your children instead of this.

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ABC book tells kids all about space from A to Z. I appreciate the mix of photographs and graphic art, which livens it up a bit. I like to share this, along with Megan McCarthy's Astronaut Handbook, with Kindergarten classes when they're learning about space. I can show them photos of Neil Armstrong, the original Mercury astronauts, Buzz Aldrin's footprint on the moon, and talk about Ham, the first chimp in space, and Laika, one of the first dogs in space (who, sadly, died there). Much to see here without too much to read, making it perfect for young readers.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book, but not great for a large group read aloud.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous "alphabet" book for kids that love space. Introduces lots of new concepts to further explore with simple but effective illustrations and text. Just read it to my son's first grade class...definite hit!

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

1st- 3rd

The A-Z of space and astronauts. With each page exporting the world beyond earth. From Asteroids, Boosters, Comets to Telescopes, Zooming in a space craft.
For students looking to explore the life of an astronaut and space crafts this book shows them each part.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

We loved the graphics and illustrations.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son likes anything related to space. So this was a great book for him.

[Gianina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good alphabet practice. The pictures were a little dated looking but overall we liked it. It had good space vocab but there were a few letters without something a child could really relate to.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For your little space adventurer

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A is for Astronaut is a visually engaging and informational book that teaches about space travel, outer space and everything in between. Each letter has several people, objects or places of significance that the author gives a brief description about, expanding your understanding of space.

As someone who isn't a space fanatic, not even so much a Star Wars fan, I really appreciated the layout of this book and how "snackable" the information was. Not only does the author provide scientific facts such as "Halley's Comet appears every 75 to 76 years" but they also include fun facts that I had never heard of before such as "Laika was the name of one of the first dogs to journey into space" or that "Golf balls were lefts on the Moon by astronaut Alan Shepard."

I gave this book 4 stars for being educational in a creative way, using both real images and illustrations to depict the different topics, as well as going through the alphabet to organize the different things of importance.