Martha E. H. Rustad

This book was a bit of a disappointment. The text is very uneven. One page is "Spring is here. The weather feels warmer. The sun shines longer each day." The next page is a diagram of the Earth's changing tilt as it orbits the sun, and the text with words like axis, northern, and Earth without explaining what they mean. Then it's back to things like "Small storms can become big storms." There is no differentiating the weather in spring from the weather of any other season. The only saving grace are the photographs. Some are quite pretty.… (mere)

The four-book series An Astronaut's Life describes Becoming an Astronaut, Space Travel, Life in Space, and Working in Space. The books are for new readers, with very simple sentences in large text on one page and full-page photos of astronaut activities on the facing page. It’s a standard format for nonfiction kids’ books but there’s something special about this series. The text is incredibly informative for all its simplicity, and full of amusing or surprising details about being an astronaut. The photo choice is really excellent also. Each photo is perfectly chosen for the accompanying text. Together the collection features a diverse array of faces; if you have a favorite ISS astronaut, you’ll likely find him or her in one of the pictures.… (mere)