Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Extreme Planets!

I picked up a couple of books for my space/astronomy outreach collection today. One is a nice Q&A format picture book for ages 5-9, Extreme Planets! (2008, part of a new Smithsonian "extreme" series including dinosaurs, aircraft, and even "Extreme White House!"). There are 20 questions on planets and other solar system objects, and the answers are brief but reasonably detailed, with a web link to more in-depth material on each answer page. It's up to date on Pluto and other dwarf planets and the illustrations (mostly NASA photos) are great. It includes a glossary, index, references, and a "meet the astronomer" interview with Christine Pulliam, public affairs specialist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (though she is not credited as the author). This is a good introduction to the solar system for curious young readers.

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