SCIENCE IN KIDS'BOOKS
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Science in Kids' Books

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Space & Science Fiction Books Reviewed for Accuracy

 

by Marianne Dyson

Former NASA Flight Controller, Award-winning Children’s Author

 

There IS gravity in space, the Moon does NOT have a dark side, and Jupiter has at least 60 moons. However, kids today might not know these things because space and science fiction books are full of misleading explanations, incorrect terminology, impossible physics, old data, and confusing illustrations.

 

I hope that the book reviews below will help young people (and educators) choose nonfiction books that are accurate, and science fiction books that will not fill their heads with misconceptions such as that a lack of air produces weightlessness. The reviews focus on books dealing with space, physics, astronomy, technology, and space history because these are my areas of expertise. Purchases through the Amazon links support my volunteer efforts to promote science literacy, and are MUCH appreciated.


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ALL BOOKS rated with a maximum of 6 points. 6=Exceptional. 5=Recommended. 4=Okay-Good. 3=Maybe. 0-2=Not Recommended. See details on point assignments and review criteria below table. Books are listed in alphabetical order by TITLE.

A - F

RATING

TITLE

(click to read review)

AUTHOR

(click to visit

author/illustrator’s

website)

TYPE

NF or SF/hard/paperback-#pgs/price

AGE

PUBLISHER - YEAR

(click to visit publisher’s website)

5.0

Astrobiology

Fred Bortz

NF/library/48 pgs

$26.00

9-12

Lerner 2007

5.0

The City of Ember

Jeanne DuPrau

SF/pb/270 pgs

$5.99

9-12

Yearling 2004

2

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars

Douglas Florian

poetry/hb/56 pgs

$16.00

9-12

Harcourt 2007

5.0

Darok 9

H.J. Ralles

SF/pb/178 pgs

$9.95

9-12

Top 2002

4

The Divide

Elizabeth Kay

SF/hb/320 pgs

$15.95

9-12

The Chicken House (Scholastic 2003)

5.5

Earthseed

Pamela Sargent

SF/pb/293 pgs

$6.99

YA

Tor Teen, 1983, mass market 2007

5.5

Earth to Stella!

 

Simon Puttock

Philip Hopman

SF/hb/32 pgs

$16.00

0-7

Clarion, division of Houghton Mifflin 2006

5

Exploring Space with an Astronaut

 

Patricia Murphy

NF/hb/24 pgs

$16.95

6-8

Enslow 2004

NEW! 5.0

Exploring the Solar System: A History with 22 Activities

Mary Kay Carson

NF/pb/176 pgs

$17.95

9 and up

Chicago Review Press

6

Faraway Worlds

Paul Halpern, PhD

Lynette R. Cook

NF/hb/32 pgs

$16.95 hb, $6.95 pb

7-12

Charlesbridge 2004

4

First Graders from Mars Episode 4

 

Shana Corey

Mark Teague

SF/hb/32 pgs

$15.95

4-8

Scholastic Press - 2003

G - L

RATING

 

 

TITLE

AUTHOR

TYPE

AGE

 

PUBLISHER - YEAR

5.0

Galileo's Universe

 

J. Patrick Lewis
Tom Curry
Bruce Foster

NF/pop-up/18 pgs

$24.95

9-12

Creative Editions, 2005

6

Greetings From Planet Earth

Barbara Kerley

SF/hb/256 pgs

$16.99

9-12

Scholastic Press 2007

6! (my book!)

Home on the Moon

Marianne Dyson

NF/hb/64 pgs

$18.95

8-12

National Geographic Books 2003

4.5

How the Moon Regained Her Shape

 

Janet Ruth Heller

Ben Hodson

SF/hb/32 pgs

$15.95

6-10

Sylvan Dell Publishing 2006

5

Hubert Invents the Wheel

 

Claire & Monte Montgomery

SF/hb/32 pgs

$16.95

7-10

Walker 2006

2

If You Decide to Go to the Moon

Faith McNulty

F/hb & pb/48 pgs

$16.99 hb/$4.99 pb

K-3

Scholastic Press 2005/2007

NEW 5.5

Impact

Douglas Preston

F/368 pgs

$25.99 hb

YA-Adult

Forge, 2010

3.5

I Spy A Rocket Ship

Dan Marzollo

Ward Yoshimoto, Michael Lokengaard

SF/pb/24 pgs

$3.50

preschool

Scholastic - Cartwheel Books 2004

3

I Wonder Why Stars Twinkle

 

Carole Stott

NF/pb/32 pgs

$5.95

4-8

Kingfisher - 93/97/03

5.5

Journey Between Worlds

 

Sylvia Louise Engdahl

SF/hb/240 pgs

$17.99

9-YA

G.P. Putnam's Sons 2006

6

Killer Rocks From Space

 

Steven N. Koppes

NF/hb/112 pgs

$29.27

9-12+

Twenty-First Century Books (Lerner) 2004

2 (revised 7-09)

Life As We Knew It

 

Susan Beth Pfeffer

SF/hb/337 pgs

$17.00

YA

Harcourt 2006

5.0

Look to the Stars

 

Buzz Aldrin
Wendell Minor

NF/hb/40 pgs

$17.99

4-8

G.P. Putnam's Sons 2009

M - R

RATING

 

 

TITLE

AUTHOR

TYPE

AGE

 

PUBLISHER - YEAR

5

Updated Mars

Melanie Chrismer

NF/24 pgs

$6.95 library

4-8

Children's Press (Scholastic)

5 to 5.5

Max Goes to Mars

 

Jeffrey Bennett

Alan Okamoto

SF&NF/hb/32 pgs

$16.95

4-12

Big Kid Science 2006

5

Max Goes to the Moon

 

Jeffrey Bennett

Alan Okamoto

SF&NF/hb/32 pgs

$16.95

4-8

Big Kid Science 2003

0

Midnight on the Moon (Magic Tree House #8)

 

Mary Pope Osborne

Sal Murdocca

SF/pb/70 pgs

$3.99

9-12

Random House 1996

5.75

Mission Control, This is Apollo

 

Andrew Chaikin with Victoria Kohl

Alan Bean

NF/hb/128 pgs

$23.99

9-12 (adult)

Viking, 2009

6

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

 

Brian Floca

NF/hb/48 pgs

$17.99

4-8

S&S, Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2009

4

The Parasite Pig

 

William Sleator

SF/hb/192 pgs

$15.99

12-A

Dutton 2002

5

Pieces of Another World

 

Mara Rockliff

Salima Alikhan

SF/hb/32 pgs

$15.95

5-9

Sylvan Dell Publishing 2005

NEW 6.0

Planet Hunter

Vicki Oransky Wittenstein

NF/48 pgs

$17.95 hb

9-12

Boyds Mills Press, 2010

4

Remnants - The Mayflower Project

 

K.A. Applegate

SF/pb/178 pgs

$1.99

9-12

Scholastic 2001

5

Robots Slither

 

Ryan Ann Hunter

Julia Gorton

NF/hb/32 pgs

$16.95

4-8

Penguin 2004

S - Z

RATING

 

 

TITLE

AUTHOR

TYPE

AGE

 

PUBLISHER - YEAR

5.5

Saturn for my Birthday

John McGranaghan
Wendy Edelson

SF/32 pgs

$16.95 hc, $8.95 pb

4-8

Sylvan Dell 2008

5.0

Shanghaied to the Moon

Michael J. Daley

SF/hc/249 pgs

$16.99

9-12

Putnam 2007

4.5

Sky Horizon

David Brin

SF/hc/120 pgs

$35.00

9-12

Subterranean Press

6! (my book!)

Space and Astronomy: Decade by Decade

Marianne Dyson

NF/library/284 pgs

$49.50

12 & up

Facts On File 2007

6.0

Spacer and Rat

Margaret Bechard

SF/hb/192 pgs

$16.95

YA

Roaring Brook Press 2005

6! (my book!)

Space Station Science

Marianne Dyson

NF/pb/128 pgs

$11.95

8-12

Windward 2004

5.0

Stars (Jump into Science)

Steve Tomecek

NF/hb/32 pgs

$16.95

4-8

National Geographic 2007

5

Stella Brite and the Dark Matter Mystery

 

Sara Latta

Meredith Johnson

SF/pb/32 pgs

$6.95

7-10

Charlesbridge 2006

5.5

To Fly

Wendie Old

Robert Andrew Parker

NF/hb/48 pgs

$16.00

7-10

Clarion Books 2003

2.5

When Is a Planet Not a Planet: The Story of Pluto

Elaine Scott

NF/pb/48 pgs

$17.00

9-12

Clarion 2007

4

You Are The First Kid on Mars

Patrick O'Brien

SF/32 pgs

$16.99 hc

4-8

Putnam Juvenile 2009


Authors or publishers who want books reviewed should send the title, author, and publisher information to me by e-mail. All books reviewed must be readily available for order through Amazon.com. I also review ADULT BOOKS for the National Space Society. Please send me announcements of new books to consider. NSS does not review self-published books.


Note: I charge $60/hour for manuscript consultation. I do not critique adult novels. Contact me for estimates.

 

Nonfiction Books are rated using the following scale:

 

2 points for accuracy of facts;

1 point for clarity of explanations, proper use of analogies, terms, and concepts;

1 point for current data/expert quotes;

1 point for readability/good grammar, voice, design, reading level;

1 point for useful and accurate illustrations/photos.

 

Science Fiction/Science-related Fiction Books are rated using the following scale:

1 point for consistency and plausibility of fictional “facts” with real facts;

1 point for clarity of descriptions, illustrations, terms;

1 point for new perspective on old idea or story about a new concept;

1 point for readability/good grammar, point of view, dialog, reading level;

1 point for science use in plot;

1 point for interesting/inspirational character.


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