Space Books We Love

Space Books We Love

For about six months now, Rea has been telling me that she wants to go to space when she grows up. So this unit has been like a dream come true for her and she has really loved and enjoyed all of the space books. We read well over 40 books to prepare for this unit and to find our very favorites. I am excited to share with you 5 of our favorites.

Mousetronaut
Mousetronaut by Mark Kelly is an adorable book about a pipsqueak of a mouse who is selected to go on a space mission with the astronauts. At first it seems like he may not be the most talented mouse, but he has a lot of heart and in the end, he proves himself worthy of a trip to space. The coolest part about this book is that it’s written by an actual astronaut and is based on a true story. Plus, if you really enjoy it he’s written a sequel.
Billie's Outer Space Adventure
Billie’s Outer Space Adventure by Sally Rippin is an Usborne book that we adore. It is about Billie who goes to preschool and is pretending to going on a space mission. This book has a moral which is awesome. It talks about being scared and getting your feelings hurt. Of course, the characters then work out a way to overcome those feelings. One my favorite part about this book is that the characters are two kids who figure out a solution to the problem on their own and do not get an adult to solve their problem. That’s fabulous modeling for our preschoolers because that is the ultimate goal. We want them to be problem solvers who solve not only academic problems, but also social problems independently.

Rufus Blasts Off
Rufus Blasts Off! is by Kim T. Griswell. This is another one of those books where the character wants to go to space, but he doesn’t quite seem like the right fit for an astronaut. In this book Rufus, a pig, keeps trying to go to space and keeps getting told no and that he’s not the right fit. But when a teacher who is supposed to go into space with the astronauts get sick, Rufus is able to fill in her spot. Rufus ends up reading a book in space to the students on Earth.

Now, if you know anything about actual space history, you’ll be able to tell that this book is inspired by the Challenger Space Shuttle. The Challenger Space Shuttle was a space mission where a history teacher, who was not an astronaut, got to go along for the ride to space and the plan was for her to teach a lesson in space and have it broadcasted on Earth. Unfortunately, the actual Challenger Space Shuttle in 1986 experienced complications and blew up before making it to space with all of the astronauts on board.

Zoo Zoom!
Zoo Zoom! is by Candace Ryan. This is a super silly, funny tongue twister of a book. This is not a book where you’re going to get a lot of true facts about space, but it’s a fun book and it’s silly which is equally important. This book is about zoo animals who take a trip to space and what it’s like on a space shuttle with a bunch of animals
Look Inside Space!
Look Inside Space is another Usborne Book. The Look Inside Space book is a non-fiction text. I think, as parents, we tend to shy away from non-fiction text when we read to our Lil’s. Don’t get me wrong, stories and books filled with imagination and adventure are fabulous and amazing. I’m certainly not going to cut those out of our reading selection, but it’s also important to start introducing our kids to some non-fiction text.

This is why I really like this book: it’s non-fiction but it’s written in a super approachable way. This is a lift-the-flap book and it’s written in a manner where you could sit down and read the text cover to cover or you could read a few pages and come back later and read a few more.

This book is an opportunity to teach your Lil’s what outer space really is and I think it is valuable to teach our Lil’s both the imaginary as well as the factual at the same time.

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