Read-aloud books about space for a 9-year old
February 17, 2021 7:20 AM   Subscribe

My soon-to-be 9-year old daughter wants to be an astronaut. What are some books about space and/or space travel that I can read aloud at bedtime?

My soon-to-be 9-year old girl loves anything that has to do with the solar system and space. For her upcoming birthday she will be getting her first telescope, and book about constellations, and another about the solar system. After spending her free screentime playing Roblox — she watches videos about the sounds and composition of the planets, what would happen when you get sucked into a black hole, etc. So science and astrophysics is becoming a root interest (she has said she either wants to be a scientist or an astronaut, or both.)

One side note: she (like myself) is a highly sensitive person. After she learns a new tasty tidbit, I find myself comforting her with messages like “No, we not be falling into a black hole, they are super far away...” and “No the sun won’t go into supernova for billions of years.” I only mention that because we need to be careful about potentially nightmare-inducing fiction.

What are your thoughts on nighttime reading material (fiction or non) that would indulge her curiosity? Bonus points for any media on related subjects that she could consume throughout the day.
posted by nandaro to Science & Nature (15 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
George’s Secret Key to the Universe, by Lucy Hawking and her dad Stephen Hawking. It is the first of a series. In addition to the fictional story there are short non-fiction essays interspersed.
posted by ElizaMain at 7:35 AM on February 17, 2021 [2 favorites]


Star Stories - myths from around the world about constellations

My highly sensitive kid likes this book (and also is concerned about black holes) (but... in moderation; myths are intense at times)
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:08 AM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


Mae Among the Stars is a few years or so late. but it's very sweet and beautiful. Illustrated by Stasia Burrington, my absolutely favorite contemporary working artist and illustrator.
posted by j_curiouser at 8:26 AM on February 17, 2021


What's It Like in Space?: Stories from Astronauts Who've Been There might be a fun non-fiction one.
posted by migurski at 8:53 AM on February 17, 2021


Mike Mongo's Astronaut Instruction Manual might be a cool thing to have around--your kid is at the younger end of the target audience, so it might click or it might be too offbeat & cerebral, and of more interest when she's older. It's not about astronomy, it's about developing habits & skills that might be useful as an astronaut.

And a different tack: Markus Motum's book about Curiosity (Mars rover) is terrific. It's a picture book, but there's still a fair amount of detail in describing all the planning, the landing, etc.
posted by miles per flower at 9:03 AM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


Not so much a book as a role model, if she hasn’t come across her already, she might enjoy reading about Alyssa Carson, who declared aged 3 that she wanted to be an astronaut and now aged 19 is well on the way. She’s on twitter quite a lot.
posted by penguin pie at 10:17 AM on February 17, 2021


Oooh, ooh! I'm an astronomer with a 9 year old son. Some thoughts:

- Depending on where you live, you might find what you can see through a backyard telescope kind of disappointing. I live in LA, so our favorite subject is the moon because not much else really shows up well. So be prepared for that, and maybe even consider binoculars instead of a telescope.

- To go with that telescope, I recommend materials about the moon: a book about the moon landings, a nice map of the moon (or materials to make her own based on observation!), a book about fables concerning the moon, a moon phases calendar: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/pdfs/mooncalendar_worksheet-2021.pdf

- My kid likes playing with the skyview app on my phone. It gets him looking up!

- I've been thinking about introducing my kid (and myself) to astrophotography. That could potentially produce something your daughter would be proud to hang in her room. I haven't found a great book, yet, but it's worth looking into.

- NASA TV is free and has a lot of inspiring videos. They're especially focused on the moon and Mars. Watch the Perseverance landing tomorrow! They also have a STEM engagement site: https://www.nasa.gov/stem

- The Jet Propulsion Lab maintains a list of activities for kids: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/

- We've had some good luck with coursera. I know it's meant for older people, but I am working through a Mountains course with my kid, and he likes it! And it's free! For an astronomy course, I'd personally start with this one: https://www.coursera.org/learn/solar-system . The professor is known for being a good storyteller.

- For fiction, my son really enjoyed "The Martian", both the book and the movie. He also liked Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles". My child is not sensitive at all, I have not read these books, so not sure about that aspect.
posted by pizzazz at 10:25 AM on February 17, 2021 [2 favorites]


It edges more to fantasy, but could really strike at the imagination - A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle.
posted by sonofsnark at 10:26 AM on February 17, 2021


Someone recommended this manual on astrophotography to me: https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/SMBooks/AstrophotographyV1.pdf

It's really long, and so you'd probably have to digest it yourself and guide your child through it. But just taking a successful picture of the night sky in low-light mode (like their Figure 34) or the moon (Figure 68) could be a lot of fun.
posted by pizzazz at 10:42 AM on February 17, 2021


"Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins, the pilot of the Apollo 11 Command/Service Module who was, for several days, separated from the entire human race by the dark bulk of the moon as he orbited away from the Tranquility Base landing area. It's very narrative and atmospheric, and the technical bits are aimed at a laymen's level, so your interested daughter will probably be on board for most of it, despite her level of schooling. Collins also talks about his time flying jets and such, so you may want to curate your reading to keep it to her interests.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:43 AM on February 17, 2021


Sally Ride wrote a children's book, To Space And Back. Marvelous photos, a very matter of fact tone about the little details of practical life in microgravity and what it takes to get home after slipping the surly bonds of earth.

9 is also old enough to absolutely love Kerbal Space Program.
posted by VelveteenBabbitt at 11:43 AM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


Eleanor Cameron's Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet and Jerome Beatty Jr's four Mathew Looney books (the latter, illustrated by Gahan Wilson).
posted by Rash at 12:31 PM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Such great answers! You guys rock! Can’t wait to dig into these. Thank you!
posted by nandaro at 3:21 PM on February 17, 2021


The expert on this is Emily Lakdawalla and her Recommended Kids' Space Books .

FYI, hers is a good Twitter feed to be following for the next 24 hours ...
posted by intermod at 8:25 PM on February 17, 2021


I would recommend Shooting for the Stars by Norah Patten.

Also, check your messages, I have a download for your daughter for tonight's Mars landing!
posted by DarlingBri at 2:37 AM on February 18, 2021 [1 favorite]


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