Physically, this is a very large book, which would be best for laying on your belly on the library floor, browsing through it. It contains full color photographs with identifying captions for every concept within the book. It begins with the smallest element in the universe, man looking at stars, then moves on to our solar system, and then beyond. This book provides comparison photos, maps, diagrams, and photos from space, and the large format means that each one is highly detailed. The descriptions and definitions are also detailed, providing a lot of information. Besides space travel and our solar system, this book contains information on other space objects like comets, asteroids, and black holes.

This book is extremely comprehensive. Kids will get a lot of information, but the language is not full of a lot of jargon, and the specialized language that is used is explained in detail. I like that it shows kids how vast the universe really is, and includes some breathtaking photos of the birth and death of stars. This is a great introduction to instruction about space, as it gives definitions and details about everything from instruments used to study space to types of spacecraft to different planets and their features. Again, each of these subjects comes with a lot of photographs so that students know exactly what they are reading about. This would be an awesome addition to any library!

For ages 8 and up. ( )