Books about Space for Kids
A kindergarten homeschool unit on space.
Nonfiction picture books about space:
A Cat’s Guide to the Night Sky by Stuart Atkinson // A beautifully illustrated guide to planets, constellations and the night sky -- narrated by feline tour guide, Felicity.
Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chin // Amazing at showing the scale of the universe and how we are situated in it.
Gravity by Jason Chin // Fascinating and fun look at how gravity works on us all.
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly // A great history of the “computers” that helped make space exploration possible. I tear up at how hard the women worked to be allowed to do what they do.
Let’s Notice Patterns in the Sky by Martha E. H. Rustad // For the younger set, for sure.
These three from Martha E. H. Rustad, all simple descriptors of each topic:
The Northern Lights by Susan Canizares // Extremely simple, focuses on the colors of the lights for a primary audience.
The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn M. Branley // Demonstrates why the moon waxes and wanes, and includes activities to act it out yourself.
The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons // More simple and straightforward than the previous book, and focuses in on the moon’s relationship with Earth.
You’re Aboard Spaceship Earth by Patricia Lauber // More about Earth/nature in general, but focuses on how Earth is floating through space like a ship.
Fiction picture books about space:
The Space Train by Maudie Powell-Tuck // A gorgeous, colorful book about an industrious grandmother and her grandson who rebuild a train to travel through space. The author-illustrator team also did one of our favorite Christmas books, Last Stop on the Reindeer Express.
Ada and the Galaxies by Alan Lightman and Olga Pastuchiv //
Max and the Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper // A sweet story about a boy and his grandfather and how the moon connects them.
Zoom, Rocket, Zoom! by Margaret Mayo // Simple rhymes celebrating all things space.
When the Moon is Full: A Lunar Year by Penny Pollock // A poem for each full moon of the calendar year with beautiful illustrations.
Encyclopedias for kids about space:
DK Smithsonian Space: A Visual Encyclopedia
Space Encyclopedia: A Tour of Our Solar System & Beyond by David A. Aguilar
Chapter books about space:
The Magic Treehouse #8: Midnight on the Moon by Mary Pope Osborne
Jigsaw Jones: The Case From Outer Space by James Preller
Magic School Bus Chapter Book: Space Explorers by Eva Moore
*I’d love more suggestions here! Got any you’ve loved?
In addition to reading lots of books, we are doing these activities to round out our homeschool space unit:
Make a model of the solar system.
Visited the Madison Metropolitan School District’s planetarium with a group for $0.50 per person and took a virtual tour of the solar system.
Color some free space coloring pages, like this one of the planets and orbits or these from NASA.
We might watch Lightyear or Wall-E on Disney+ for some space-themed entertainment, or a NatGeo documentary for something more true-to-life.
And Mom and Dad may rewatch Hidden Figures, or re-read The Martian just for fun.
What space resources would you add to the list?