Our Favorite Space Books

“But there’s lots to discover, and it might be you who looks up in the sky…and finds something that’s new!”

– There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System by Tish Rabe

Books are magical. They can transport you to unknown places, launch you on your own mysterious adventures, and teach you about the many wonders of the world…all with the turn of a page! By now, you know just how much we love to read books – it is our favorite daily activity. So, it comes as no surprise (with our stellar theme this month) that we decided to put together a list of Our Favorite Space Books, to share with all of you!

We dared to step foot on the moon with Neil Armstrong, accompanied Pete the Cat and Mousetronaut on special space missions, learned how to dream big with Dr. Mae Jemison, scoured the solar system, and trained to be astronauts. Heck, we even took an unforgettable trip on the Magic School Bus, with the lovely and dynamic Ms. Frizzle!

**Note: The below list contains Amazon Affiliate links, for convenience. See Disclosure Policy for more details.**

Hello, World! Solar System by Jill McDonald
- This colorful board book provides our littlest explorers with the perfect introduction to the many wonders in our solar system. We especially love all of the fun little facts about each planet. Did you know that ice crystals give Uranus its blue color?
Pete the Cat: Out of This World by James Dean
- If you’ve been following along with us for awhile now, you know that our little nugget loves Pete the Cat. We can simply never go wrong with a Pete the Cat book. 🙂 Needless to say, we just had to snag this special space-themed story…just so we could join Pete on his adventures at space camp! Pete gets to build a rocket, ride in a lunar rover, take a spin in a zero-gravity chamber…and so much more!
I Am Neil Armstrong by Brad Meltzer
- We love the books in Brad Meltzer’s Ordinary People Change the World series. We shared a couple during Black History Month…and a few more in our post about Inspiring Books for Young Girls. In this installment we learn all about the first person to step foot on the moon – Neil Armstrong. We had no idea that Neil received his pilot’s license before his driver’s license…or that his plane lost a wing during a navy mission in the Korean War (he ejected and landed safely in the ocean). He was an engineer and a test pilot before becoming a NASA astronaut…where he become the very first person to make a footprint on the surface of the moon – on July 20, 1969. “We all have moments when we fail. But failure is not an ending – it’s an opportunity to learn something new. Whenever you tumble, you must get back up. Every mistake you make teaches you a better way forward.”
There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System by Tish Rabe
- “Saturn has rings. It’s so light – who would think? It could float in an ocean and not even sink!” Join the Cat in the Hat (and Things One & Two) on a galactic adventure through the solar system. Our little nugget can’t get enough of this rhythmic space exploration – from the sun and planets, to the constellations and beyond!
The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen
- This literary treasure was certainly a blast in the past for me and my husband. 🙂 The Magic School Bus educational book series launched in 1986…and turned into an animated television series in 1994. Each story follows an eclectic elementary school teacher (by the name of Ms. Frizzle) and her class, as they board a “magic school bus” that takes them on field trips to unusual places – like outer space! The original animated series is currently on Netflix, along with a new series sequel titled, The Magic School Bus Rides Again. Our little nugget has thoroughly enjoyed watching the old series with us…so when it came to learning about space this month…we obviously had to snag a copy of this stellar book!
If You Were the Moon by Laura Purdie Salas
- It’s easy to glace up at the moon and assume that it is simply resting there in the night sky…but this whimsical story proves otherwise. Our moon helps keep our planet in balance, it spins like a twilight ballerina, plays dodgeball with space rocks, challenges the ocean to games of tug-o-war…and so much more. Our moon is truly magical!
Astronaut Handbook by Meghan McCarthy
- Do you want to be an astronaut? Do you have what it takes? Perhaps you should go to astronaut school…just to make sure that you’re fully prepared for space exploration. You will need to be able to swim in your flight suit and sneakers, survive a spin on the Vomit Comet (a special plane that mimics zero gravity), get accustomed to a space toilet, and get measured for your space suit. It takes a lot of work and preparation…but the payoff is out of this world!
Mousetronaut by Mark Kelly
- Meteor the mouse may be small, but he’s also incredibly eager, friendly, and hardworking…just a few of the characteristics that get him selected (by the lead astronaut at NASA) for an upcoming space mission. And thank goodness Meteor was on that particular space flight…the mission may have failed miserably without him (when a control panel key became wedged between two monitors). Meteor came to the rescue…and upon his return home, he was greeted with his very own own space suit…and the official title of Mousetonaut!
Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed
- We’ve read about Dr. Mae Jemison (the first African American female astronaut) before, in our Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History book, by Vashti Harrison. But this beautifully-illustrated story provides a more kid-friendly look into the world of little Mae – a daydreamer with a big goal…to be an astronaut! A dreamer who fought against sexism and racism to fulfill her destiny. ” If you can dream it, believe in it, and work hard for it, anything is possible.”
If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty
- “If you decide to go to the moon in your own rocket ship, read this book before you start. It will tell you how to get there and what to do after you land. The most important part tells you how to get home.” Well…after constructing our very own DIY Cardboard Rocket Ship, we obviously needed to read this book, before venturing off on our own mission to the moon. 🙂 I mean, it’s always good to be prepared. We learned just how long it would take us to get to the moon, the best place to land, what to expect when walking on the moon, how to find the astronauts’ camp…and so much more! But most importantly, we learned to appreciate and protect the life that we have on planet Earth.
A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars by Seth Fishman
- The world is filled with all sorts of numbers…from minuscule numbers…to super duper ginormous numbers (like the ones that you will find inside this book). This clever story is sure to have your eyes popping and your tongue twisted! There’s approximately 1,620 raindrops in an average thunderstorm. There are 3,000,000,000,000 (trillion) trees on planet Earth. And the average person walks approximately 100,000 miles in their lifetime. But with all of the swirling numbers in this world…one thing remains constant…there is only one YOU!
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space by Catherine D. Hughes
- This informative and colorful book has been our go-to for space knowledge for the past few years. We LOVE this book! We love glancing through the numerous pages and learning new facts about the beautiful Milky Way galaxy. And we love using this book as a reference for various crafts and activities (like the Plate Smoosh Planet Painting activity that we shared last week)! This book is the perfect place to start when teaching your kiddos all about space. It provides all of the basic concepts – and starts with those that are the most familiar (Earth, the moon, and the sun) and then branches out into the lesser-known (the other planets in our solar system, meteors, the asteroid belt, comets, stars, constellations, galaxies, nebula, black holes, and more)! You’re definitely going to want to add this book to your home library. 🙂