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11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System

Author: David A. Aguilar
Publisher:National Geographic Children's Books (March 11, 2008)
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 48 pages

Who isn't amazed by the possibility of life on Jupiter's moons, the freeze-dried atmosphere of Pluto, and a potential planet the author calls Eggland?

Since the last time I went to science class, astronomers have come up with a new way to think about our planetary system which is why I found this book fascinating. The planets are broken into three groups- terrestrial (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars), gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), and then the dwarf planets (Ceres, Pluto, and Eris). Aguilar devotes a two-page spread to each of the eleven planets and additional two-page spreads explain other extraterrestrial bodies such as moons, meteorites, and comets. There are great facts such as, "Unlike any other planet in our solar system, Uranus has a 98-degree tilt to its axis. Scientists think that really early in its history, it was hit by something really big that knocked it completely over on its side." In addition, Aguilar has a skill of making a difficult subject very easy to understand. "You can think of our solar system as neighborhoods in space."

David A. Aguilar is Director of Science Information at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and in addition to writing and making art about space, he loves building telescopes, leading astronomy expeditions, and telling people about the latest discoveries. Aguilar's artwork in this book is breathtaking and will have you dreaming of hopping on a spaceship and soaring to outer space.

What I really like about this book are the hidden gems. For instance, a trick to remember the names of the planets in order from the Sun, and "The Solar System in a Grocery Bag." The size of the solar system is immense to us, so Aguilar provides a way to put it into better perspective with items you can find at a grocery store. What a great lesson to do with young readers!

Read these other great reviews...

Carol Wilcox at Carol's Corner
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