Last year for our homeschool science curriculum, we followed Real Science Odyssey’s Space study and I added in living books to complement the lessons and labs. We read about the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, and more. We enjoyed and learned a lot but by far my favourite kinds of books were the biographies and histories of the people who have explored space and the history of space exploration.
I love to learn about people and the motivations they have to do big important things and expand our understanding of our place in the universe. Here is a list of our favourite living books about the history of space exploration.
Living Books About the People Who Explore Space and History of Space Travel
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
Team Moon was one of my top reads for the entire year. I loved how Catherine Thimmesh told the story of the unsung heroes who worked in the background designing space suits, heat shields and more. My neighbor, Chuck, passed away a few years ago at the age of 98 and he was part of Team Moon. He worked at the top secret Blue Cube in Sunnyvale in the 1960s. He told me he was part of the lunar lander vertical-take-off-and-landing simulation flight tests at Moffett Airfield.
Earthrise: The Story of the Photograph that Changed the Way We See Our Planet by Leonard S. Marcus
I was born in 1987, so I have always just known what the earth looked like from space. My son and I read Earthrise together and it helped us time travel back to December 1968 when this was mind-blowing image was released to the world. At the time, we had two major superpowers threatening nuclear armageddon and seeing this image of the earth, all alone in a black void of space, made people realize how lucky we are to have Earth. People saw how trivial our disagreements really are, bringing unity, peace and love of the late 1960s into the cultural zeitgeist. In 1970, we started honoring Earth Day, and in 1971, one of the most famous tv ads of all time aired. We continue to consider the earth today thanks for environmental protections and slogans like “There is no Planet B”.
Apollo Remastered – The Ultimate Photgraphic Record by Andy Saunders
A big, heavy coffee table book with stunning images of the Apollo missions. My son poured over these photos.
Starry Messenger takes us back to the late 1500s and tells the story of Galileo Galilei, known as the father of the modern scientific method and observational astronomy. Galileo invented a more powerful telescope that allowed him to see the rings of Saturn, the phases of Venus, and the moons of Jupiter.
Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker
A children’s story about the life of Katherine Johnson – a female African American mathematician who saved the disastrous Apollo 13 mission.
Hidden Figures, also about Katherine, as well as Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan has been turned into a feature film (rated PG).
The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield
The Darkest Dark is one of my all-time favorite children’s books that combines the history of the lunar landing with childhood dreams and the very common fear of the dark. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield’s book is gem for all ages.
The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon by Bea Uusma Schyffert
A fantastic living book! Before reading this book, I had heard all about Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin – but I had never heard of the third man on the Apollo 11 missions – Michael Collins. Have you? This book is all about the third critical piece of man’s mission to the Moon, whose name is mostly forgotten.
In this story, based on true events, a young boy helps fix a satellite on earth during the moon landing. Too often, kids feel too little to help in any meaningful way. But in Marty’s Mission, Marty’s small size is exactly what is needed.
We love Brian Floca’s books and Moonshot is a wonderful living book of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
American Moonshot (Young Readers Edition) by Douglas Brinkley
This Young Reader’s Edition of Douglas Brinkley’s American Moonshot goes into the history of rockets, the end of World War II and the German missiles which were precursors to the technology needed to blast astronauts to the moon.
Who Was Sally Ride? By Megan Stine
My son loves the Who HQ biographies and he enjoyed this one about Sally Ride, the first American woman in space!
Blast Back! The Space Race by Nancy Ohlin
My son (now age 10), has enjoyed the Blast Back series for the last couple of years. This is a good independent reader for mid-elementary.
Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
Okay, I know Musk is a complex human being and there are many opinions about him. This book was published in 2018…before he purchased Twitter, before he waded into politics, and before he made some of his more unpopular decisions, affecting many. I still enjoyed this (dated) biography of a man who has big dreams, an awful lot of confidence, knows how to hire and inspire the right people, and works hard. As a mom with an out-of-the-box kiddo, I drew inspiration from Musk’s mom and how she approached his education when he was a kid. Spoiler alert…she filled his life with books and let him read, read, read.
I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as we did!
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 my kids. I have not used AI in writing this post or in generating this list of books for you.
Enjoyed this post? Check out some of my other recent posts!
- Living Books About the History of Space Exploration
- Living Books for Kids about Astrophysics
- Living Books about Stars and Stargazing
- Living Books about Planet Earth
- Living Books about the Planets
Don’t want to miss a thing? Please consider subscribing to my blog and get an email whenever I post something new.
Discover more from Welcome to RinkydinkMum
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
