What We See in the Stars [book review]

Having not been homeschooled myself, it's a little tricky to figure out exactly what I'm doing, especially when it comes to the books and such that we'll be using. Thank goodness E is only three and I have time to research and gather. I'm collecting books little by little--my favorite thrift-store scores are copies of classic books. I figure we'll be reading those at some point no matter what, so they're a perfectly safe investment (and at thrift store prices, it's not like it requires much investment). Other than that, though, I try to stick to things we'd use in preschool or kindergarten, so I'm not getting too far ahead of myself before I really have a feel for what this looks like in reality. Some books are too interesting to pass up, however, and that's how I end up with volumes like What We See in the Stars.

Written and illustrated by Kelsey Oseid, this introduction to basic astronomy includes information on the constellations, the Milky Way, the moon, the sun, the planets, asteroids, comets, meteors, and deep space. With just 154 pages, it's not exhaustive by any means, but it'll be a good resource for a quick survey of the topic in elementary school. The most useful sections for this will probably be those on the moon and sun. The pages on the planets are also useful, but very brief--perfect for an introduction, but if you're really going to get into a study of the solar system (and don't you think you would?), you'll probably want to seek out additional information.

The most extensive section of the book covers constellations, which I find fascinating. It's maybe not very practical to study the constellations in a lot of depth, but a kid could flip through the book on her own if she's interested in learning more about the specific star formations and their stories.

Oseid's illustrations are the highlight of the book, as they're meant to be. Flipping through the pages makes me want to bust out the art supplies and try painting a planet or something myself (but I doubt my efforts would be as fun).

I would compare this book to the popular "field guides" Nature Anatomy, Farm Anatomy, etc. The information isn't meant to be a complete study of the topic but a very basic introduction. It's an educational endeavor undertaken by someone whose first occupation is artist. It's informational, yes. But first it's pretty. Because an elementary school study of space isn't going to be overly deep and detailed, I think What We See in the Stars will be a good starting resource.

What are your favorite space books for kids?

I received a copy of this book free for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.