Adam, Frost, The Awesome Book of Space, Bloomsbury Publishing, September 2018, 112 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781408896501
How long does it take to deliver a pizza to the International Space Station? How many pairs of pants will you need to live a year in outer space? What happens if you fall into a black hole?
Basically, any question you (or any inquisitive kid you know) can think of is covered in this highly entertaining, clever and educational book. From the physics of gravity (and zero gravity) to the composition of the stars and planets, from radiation to relativity, from ancient beliefs to future possibilities, this book has it all. It’s non-fiction, but certainly not devoid of fun.
It actually took me a while to write this review, because I had to convince my seven year-old son to give the book back to me! He pounced on it as soon as it arrived in our house, and has read it cover to cover several times. Frost has found a fun and engaging way to present a myriad of facts about space that
Frost makes good use of such devices as puzzles, quizzes, lists, graphs and charts to convey information in a way that kids are going to retain, and invariably recite to their parents later! My son has been coming up to me for weeks with “Did you know…” statements, all sophisticated facts about space, all obtained just from reading this book.
The illustrations are bright and colourful, and suit the tone of the book perfectly. They’re comical and playful without being too childish, and serve as a fine visual companion to Frost’s words.
In terms of age appropriateness, my kid is seven and he lapped it up, so probably children from around that age up to about 12 would be the main target audience…. Although I’m in my 40s and I thought it was every bit as awesome as the title suggests!
Reviewed by Christian Price
