The Solar System (Charles Hope, Wild Dog)

Space is a perennially popular topic with younger readers. Over the past two decades, robotic probe space missions have hugely expanded our knowledge of nearby planets, and the images they’ve beamed back have revolutionised our understanding of their appearance. This information has inspired a new generation of children’s nonfiction books exploring the wonders of the galaxy. Author Charles Hope takes full advantage of some amazing images in The Solar System, the first book in Wild Dog’s ‘Going Supernova’ series. Each two-page spread focusses on a different planet, with a large image accompanied by a few paragraphs of text that contain basic facts and a few statistics such as length of orbit, diameter and temperature. The book also opens with some information on the Sun and closes with the Milky Way. For those old enough to remember the controversy, Pluto is not included as a planet. The book is attractively designed, with a simple, clear layout repeated for each planet. It is recommended for would-be space explorers of a primary-school age.

Heath Graham is a teacher and former bookseller

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Category: Reviews