If you told me this time last year that I’d be reading books to my kids about astrophysics, I would have glanced up from my cross-stitch and said, “say what now?”
Astronomy is the study of mapping and observing celestial bodies out in space – astrophysics is about how the laws of physics and chemistry affect these cosmic bodies, how they interact with one another, and how the universe works.
My son loves learning about the planets and stars – but he really loved learning about black holes, the search for extra-terrestrial life, and dark matter. I thought this week I’d write a post about the other “things” in space other than stars, planets, the moon and sun. Here are some living book suggestions for kids about astrophysics and other celestial bodies.
Living Books about Other Cosmic Bodies
Is There Life in Outer Space? by Franklyn M. Branley
Another Let’s Read and Find Out Science book that addresses an age-old question that we are still pondering! Is there life? What might that life look like? My son and daughter loved to imagine what extra-terrestrial life might be like.
A Black Hole is NOT a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeChristefano
I was surprised by how much my son loved this book. So much so that even though I had planned for it to be read aloud together, he just kept reading it in the afternoons. Then, he demonstrated how a black hole works with a balloon, a marble and some plastic wrap, so that’s homeschool winning for sure. When kids take a book and then get excited to show you something they learned from the book in a demonstration – you know it’s a living book.
Caveat: Okay, I know this is an adult book. There are some curse words and there is some passing mention of sex. But I still read it aloud with my son (he is 10) and we really loved it. I edited when I needed to…but 99% of this book is appropriate for a ten year old. We learned a lot about the possibilities of extra-terrestrial life, problem solving in space, and how relativity works. I would recommend it as a read-aloud together depending on the age and maturity of your kid.
Living Books about Astrophysics – Studying how it all these cosmic bodies work together
Eclipse: Darkness in Daytime by Franklyn M. Branley
Eclipse by Franklyn M. Branley is a Let’s Read and Find Out book that is out of print now because it is dated. The information about eclipses is still accurate but it does talk about eclipses that will happen in the distant future of 2017, so keep that in mind. But it does have a really clear explanation of what happens during an eclipse.
Boy, Were We Wrong About the Solar System! by Kathleen V. Kudlinkski
Ah! Another one that is out of print and I’m sorry to say, very expensive on the used market. If you can find it at book sales or used book stores, I still think it is worth reading mainly because it is all about how science is always learning, moving forward, and revising what it thought it knew as new information becomes available. I think that is an important concept to communicate to kids, especially in an area as ever-evolving as astrophysics. We continue to learn so much and adjust our thinking. Pluto is now a dwarf planet, after all!
Gravity is a Mystery by Franklyn M. Branley
This one is all about how gravity works both on earth and in the universe.
Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson with Gregory Mone
My son and I read this one together at bed-time. I learned so much from this book. I finally understand how we can possibly know what happened 4 billion years ago in some distant galaxy thanks to Neil de Grasse Tyson’s straightforward explanations. Because of this book, astrophysics no longer scares me and I’m glad my son and I read it together.
I hope you find some good reads on this list for your child (and your!) budding interest in outer space!
Warmly,
-Heather
ps: This post contains Amazon-affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog! I am a real person and I really did read these books with real human children. No part of this blog post was written or inspired by AI.
Enjoyed this post? Check out some of my other posts!
- Living Books for Kids about Astrophysics
- Living Books about Stars and Stargazing
- Living Books about Planet Earth
- Living Books about the Planets
- Living Books about the Sun and the Moon
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