In our year of studying space for homeschool, we learned a lot about the planets in our solar system, so I thought I’d write a post about our favourite living books about planets.
You can check out my other posts about space books in this series, like my book recommendations about the sun and the moon, as well as my all-time faves from this year.
The Planets in Our Solar System by Franklyn M. Branley
Whenever we tackle a new science topic, I always turn to the Let’s Read and Find Out Science series. It is full of living books that don’t talk down to children and that are full of big ideas to think about and clear explanations. This updated edition of the Planets in Our Solar System is an approachable, interesting summary for all ages.
Our Solar System! A Stellar Neighborhood by Stacy McAnulty
I really love Stacy McAnulty’s writing (she also wrote the Goldie Blox series), and we enjoyed her personified series about the planets.
Pluto! Not a Planet? Not a Problem! by Stacy McAnulty
We are always learning in science and part of being a scientist is changing your mind about how the universe works as new scientific research uncovers new information. Sometimes book content becomes “obsolete” as it is no longer up-to-date on what scientists know about the universe, but I believe it is still valuable from a historical perspective. It is good for kids to know that we used to think Pluto was a planet, but that new information came to light and so we changed our minds about it and redefined it as a dwarf planet. This kind of flexible thinking is crucial in scientific investigation. I like this book because it explains how we changed our minds about Pluto.
To the Edge of the Universe – A 14-Foot Foldout Journey by Raman Prinja
This book is out of print and only available used so I cannot attest to the currently factual accuracy of everything in it, but what I like about it is that it folds out to be a scale model of the solar system so it gives a really good sense of scale of how big our solar system is.
Mission to Mars by Franklyn M. Branley
It seems that in 2026 the cultural zeitgeist is turning towards further exploration of space. In fact, NASA has a goal to safely land humans on Mars in the 2030s. Our kids learning about space today may be part of the mission team to Mars! This book is about all that would be involved in sending humans to Mars and what we’d hope to learn from these space explorers.
The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
My kids love the Magic School Bus tv show and books. Our homeschool field trips aren’t quite as exciting, but I do endeavor to be as cool as Ms. Frizzle. When we read the books, I usually read the narrative and my kids enjoy reading the comic bubbles of the children’s commentary, a team effort!
I hope you’ve found these living books about the planets in our solar system inspiring as you build your library! Do you have any favourite books about planets you’d like to recommend to me? Leave a comment!
Warmly,
-Heather
ps: This post contains Amazon affiliate links from which I receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog! I am a real person, and my kids and I really did read these books. This is not an AI generated book list.
Enjoyed this post? Check out some of my other recent posts below!
- Living Books about the Planets
- Living Books about the Sun and the Moon
- A Year of Stellar Science – Homeschool Study of Space
- Is 4th grade too early for Shakespeare? One family’s experience
- Encouraging Reading in Boys: Favorite Books for Young Readers
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