Kathleen Krull

Maurizio A.C. Quarello

The inspiring, deeply patriotic true story of John Glenn, a true hero who not only changed America’s contribution to space exploration but also spent his life proudly serving his country in many ways.

This is a gorgeous picture book to introduce younger readers to John Glenn, from award-winning author Kathleen Krull and illustrator Maurizio A. C. Quarello.

John Glenn wasn’t just the first American to orbit Earth. He was a family man, a soldier, a United States senator, and a national hero. He laid the groundwork for future star voyagers—and dreamers—everywhere.

From the time he was a child, John Glenn loved flying. Later he did so by flying airplanes for the U.S. military, and then when space travel became a possibility, he trained for years to become an astronaut. John had to push his mind and body to the brink.

But he loved his country more than anything and wanted to serve—including flying into the great unknown.

Fly High, John Glenn: The Story of an American Hero

Roda Ahmed

Stasia Burrington

An Amazon Best Book of the Month A beautiful picture book for sharing, inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison. A great classroom and bedtime read-aloud, Mae Among the Stars is the perfect book for young readers who have big dreams and even bigger hearts! When Little Mae was a child, she dreamed of dancing in space. She imagined herself surrounded by billions of stars, floating, gliding, and discovering. She wanted to be an astronaut. Her mom told her, “If you believe it, and work hard for it, anything is possible.” Little Mae’s curiosity, intelligence, and determination, matched with her parents’ encouraging words, paved the way for her incredible success at NASA as the first African American woman to travel in space. This book will inspire other young girls to reach for the stars, to aspire for the impossible, and to persist with childlike imagination.

Mae Among the Stars

Chris Hadfield

The Fan Brothers

Inspired by the childhood of real-life astronaut Chris Hadfield and brought to life by Terry and Eric Fan’s lush, evocative illustrations, The Darkest Dark will encourage readers to dream the impossible. Chris loves rockets and planets and pretending he’s a brave astronaut, exploring the universe. Only one problem–at night, Chris doesn’t feel so brave. He’s afraid of the dark. But when he watches the groundbreaking moon landing on TV, he realizes that space is the darkest dark there is–and the dark is beautiful and exciting, especially when you have big dreams to keep you company.

The Darkest Dark

Brian Floca

Here is the story of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon – a story of leaving and returning during the summer of 1969, and a story of home, seen whole, from far away by steady astronauts in their great machines.

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

Marcie Colleen

Emma Yarlett

Orville lives at the zoo, surrounded by animal pals who go on exciting adventures. A hang gliding rhino! A deep-sea diving giraffe! Orville struggles to keep up, until one day he concocts an adventure all his own: build a spaceship and fly to the moon all by himself. Can one tiny penguin get there alone?

Penguinaut is perfect for every child who’s said, “I can do it myself!” and comes to find that the rewards are much richer when shared with friends. Marcie Colleen’s playful text and Emma Yarlett’s charming, whimsical illustrations are sure to delight both children and their parents.

Penguinaut!

Brian Biggs

One small step for man is one giant leap for friendship in this funny kid-level space adventure

Astronaut Randolph Witherspoon wants to take a walk–a space walk, that is! But Ground Control has other ideas. Randolph must eat some lunch, get some exercise, and then he can go outside, provided he dresses warmly and doesn’t talk to strangers. But Randolph’s mission doesn’t exactly go to plan, leading to an unexpected new friend.

Brian Biggs puts an interstellar spin on the parent-child relationship in this hilarious new picture book.

The Space Walk

Dean Robbins

Lucy Knisley

A true story from one of the Women of NASA!

Margaret Hamilton loved numbers as a young girl. She knew how many miles it was to the moon (and how many back). She loved studying algebra and geometry and calculus and using math to solve problems in the outside world.

Soon math led her to MIT and then to helping NASA put a man on the moon! She handwrote code that would allow the spacecraft’s computer to solve any problems it might encounter. Apollo 8. Apollo 9. Apollo 10. Apollo 11. Without her code, none of those missions could have been completed.

Dean Robbins and Lucy Knisley deliver a lovely portrayal of a pioneer in her field who never stopped reaching for the stars.

Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing

Ken Wilson-Max

The stars are the limit for a little girl who acts out her wish to be an astronaut — inspired by a very special person. Astrid has loved the stars and space for as long as she can remember. “I want to be an astronaut!” she says to everyone who will listen. While her mama is away, Astrid and her papa have fun acting out the challenges an astronaut faces on a space mission — like being in zero gravity (“I can do that all day long!” she says), eating food from a kind of tube, and doing science experiments with the help of cookie sheets. When at last it’s time to meet Mama at the air base, Astrid wears her favorite space T-shirt to greet her. But where exactly has Mama been? Channeling a sense of childlike delight, Ken Wilson-Max brings space travel up close for young readers and offers an inspiring ending.

Astro Girl

Jon Agee

In this sneaky, silly picture book for fans of Oliver Jeffers and Jon Klassen, an intrepid-but not so clever-space explorer is certain he’s found the only living thing on Mars. A young astronaut is absolutely sure there is life to be found on Mars. He sets off on a solitary mission, determined to prove the naysayers wrong. But when he arrives, equipped with a package of cupcakes as a gift, he sees nothing but a nearly barren planet. Finally, he spies a single flower and packs it away to take back to Earth as proof that there is indeed life on Mars. But as he settles in for the journey home, he cracks open his cupcakes-only to discover that someonehas eaten them all! Readers will love being in on the secret- Unbeknownst to the explorer, a Martian has been wandering through the illustrations the whole time-and he got himself a delicious snack along the way.

Life on Mars

An unlikely trio lands on a planet and keeps the inhabitants at bay using bananas.

Earth Space Moon Base

Mark Kelly

C. F. Payne

A heartwarming picture book tale of the power of the small, from bestselling author and retired NASA astronaut Commander Mark Kelly. Astronaut Mark Kelly flew with “mice-tronauts” on his first spaceflight aboard space shuttle Endeavour in 2001. Mousetronaut tells the story of a small mouse that wants nothing more than to travel to outer space. The little mouse works as hard as the bigger mice to show readiness for the mission . . . and is chosen for the flight! While in space, the astronauts are busy with their mission when disaster strikes—and only the smallest member of the crew can save the day. With lively illustrations by award-winning artist C. F. Payne, Mousetronaut is a charming tale of perseverance, courage, and the importance of the small!

Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story

Richard T. Morris

Tom Lichtenheld

Lights! Camera! Moose! MOOSE? Yes, Moose! When a movie director tries to capture the life of a moose on film, he’s in for a big surprise. It turns out the moose has a dream bigger then just being a moose–he wants to be an astronaut and go to the moon. His forest friends step in to help him, and action ensues. Lots of action. Like a lacrosse-playing grandma, a gigantic slingshot into space, and a flying, superhero chipmunk. In this hilarious romp, Richard T. Morris and bestselling illustrator Tom Lichtenheld remind us to dream big and, when we do, to aim for the moon.

This Is a Moose

Suzanne Slade

Nicole Tadgell

astronauts

fiction

family

Career Day is approaching, and Annie can’t wait to show her family what she’s planning to be when she grows up. But, she must keep it a secret until Friday! So curious family members each ask Annie for a clue. Convinced that she’ll be a news reporter like he once was, Grandpop gives her his old camera and notebook to use for her presentation. Grandma is sure Annie wants to be a champion baker like her, so she offers a mixing bowl and oven mitts to Annie. Hopeful she’ll become the mountain climber he aspired to be, Dad gives Annie an old backpack. Mom presents Annie with a pair of high-top sneakers to pursue Mom’s favorite sport in high school – basketball. Grateful for each gift, Annie cleverly finds a way to use them all to create her Career Day costume. When the big day arrives, Annie finally reveals her out-of-this-world dream to everyone.

Astronaut Annie

David Walliams

Tony Ross

From Number One bestselling picture book duo, David Walliams and Tony Ross, comes this explosively funny space adventure for children of 3 and up.

Two big hippos.
One ENORMOUS dream.
Who can make it to the moon first?
3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .
BLAST OFF!

Introducing a wonderfully charming and funny new picture book from two superstars!

The First Hippo on the Moon

Drew Brockington

CatStronauts, you are needed! When the world is thrust into darkness due to a global energy shortage, the Worlds Best Scientist comes up with a bold plan to set up a solar power plant on the moon. But someone has to go up there to set it up, and that adventure falls to the CatStronauts, the best space cats on the planet! Meet the fearless commander Major Meowser, brave-but-hungry pilot Waffles, genius technician and inventor Blanket, and quick thinking science officer Pom Pom on their most important mission yet! In this graphic novel, debut author and illustrator Drew Brockington breathes life into a world populated entirely by cats, brimming with jokes, charm, science, and enough big boxes and tuna sandwiches for everyone!

Mission Moon

A girl gets into a mouthful of trouble in this modern fractured fairy tale, from the author of The Mother-Daughter Book Club.  Once upon a time, Cat Starr lived with her astronaut mom in Houston. But when her mother gets sent on a long-term mission, Cat has to move to a far away land–her dad’s house, halfway across the country–and share a room with her real-life evil stepsister, Olivia. Just when Cat can’t take it anymore, Great-Aunt Abyssinia comes to the rescue. And things go from bad to worse. The next morning, Cat opens her mouth and a toad hops out! What’s more, when Olivia speaks, diamonds and flowers appear. How unfair is that? Before you can say “happily ever after,” the girls are on the run from jewel thieves and a government agency. Can Cat save the day–and get rid of all those toads? This is an enchanting fractured fairy tale from acclaimed Mother-Daughter Book Club author Heather Vogel Frederick.

Once Upon a Toad

Sue Ganz-Schmitt

Shane Prigmore

Star Log: Day 100. Base camp is lively. I greet my crewmates and admire their work. We have mastered many skills on our journey, but today brings a new milestone. There have been: 100 roll calls. 100 songs. 100 pledges. 100 challenging days full of exploration and triumph! Little ones will be over the moon as they celebrate school’s 100th Day with this clever, dynamically illustrated book, and eager to suit up for another daring adventure exploring and conquering Planet Kindergarten.

Planet Kindergarten: 100 Days in Orbit

Judi Barrett

Isidre Mones

Cloudy with a chance of…pie?! An all-new Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs adventure takes foodie fun to–Mars! Breaking News: Astronauts Land on Mars! Kate and Henry can hardly believe their eyes. Astronauts have landed on Mars! And their first discovery there? A thick glutinous substance that seems to be falling from the sky. A substance not unlike…pie filling? Could it be? Could it be raining pies on Mars? Suddenly, Mars seems a whole lot more inviting–and delicious!–than it ever has before. And more will be revealed. Because it just so happens that Grandpa has some very personal experience with these Martians. And, even more importantly, with the pies.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3: Planet of the Pies

Susan Batori

Astronaut Clayton Anderson spent 152 days in space aboard the International Space Station–and while he didn’t mail dozens of letters back to Earth (they would have burned up on reentry!), imagine if he did! These letters from space are full of weird science, wild facts, and outrageous true stories from life in space, complete with hysterical illustrations from Susan Batori. Backmatter includes even more interesting information on space, astronauts, and living among the stars.

Letters from Space

Atia Abawi

Gillian Flint

Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger comes a chapter book series about women who stood up, spoke up and rose up against the odds! As the first American woman in space, Sally Ride broke barriers and made her dreams come true. But she wanted to do even more! After leaving NASA, she created science and engineering programs that would help other girls and women make their dreams come true as well. In this chapter book biography by award-winning author Atia Abawi, readers learn about the amazing life of Sally Ride–and how she persisted. Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton!

Sally Ride

Eric Seltzer

Tom Disbury

Cows in space: What’s not to love? This Pre-level 1 Ready-to-Read is all about space cows and the wacky and fun things they do! Space cows fly high. Space cows fly low. Space cows dance three in a row. Space cows are green. Space cows are blue. Some of them quack (but most of them moo)! Read all about space cows in this book for beginning readers who like to giggle!

Space Cows

Nancy Krulik

Aaron Blecha

A real-life astronaut is coming to Edith B. Sugarman Elementary School, and one lucky kid gets to interview him! Not only that, a trip to a space adventurer program is also up for grabs. To win the contest, students must complete a physical fitness challenge and come up with three interesting questions to ask the astronaut. As always, George intends to beat his rival, Louie. But when the competition heats up, George is too distracted to notice how much the prize means to his best friend, Alex. For George, winning may not be everything this time around.

How Do You Pee in Space?

Erica-Jane Waters

The girls at Miss Bunsen’s are excited at the news that Nova Celeste, the famous astronaut, is offering space camp scholarships to three lucky students. All the winning team has to do is invent a flying machine–in just a week! The girls don’t have much to work with, but during a sewing class, they stumble across an incredible idea. But will it fly?

Light as a Feather

Jon Scieszka

Steven Weinberg

This series is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets The Bad Guys in a funny, visually daring adventure series for reluctant readers, teachers, and librarians alike. This hilarious, visually groundbreaking read is the conclusion to a major series by children’s literature legend Jon Scieszka. The book follows a final mission, where AlphaWolf, LaserShark, SmartHawk, and StinkBug must find a planet fit for human life after we’ve finally made Earth unlivable. Time is up for our friends the AstroNuts. In fact, time is up for you, too. If they don’t succeed on this mission, Earth is doomed! So when the team finds out they’re being sent to a place called the perfect planet, their mission sounds way too easy. Unfortunately, the second they land, they realize they’ll be dealing with the most dangerous species of all time . . . humans. Huh? Where in the universe is this supposedly perfect place? And how will the Nuts manage to convince the humans to risk death . . . for the sake of their lives?!

Mission Three: The Perfect Planet

Mini Grey

Meet Space Dog, Astrocat, and Mousetronaut in this hilarious adventure about teamwork and unexpected friendship from the award-winning creator of Traction Man.  Space Dog is zooming through Cake Space on the SS Kennel when he receives the first of many distress calls from the vast Spooniverse. Can he rescue the Cereal People, plug up the Ketchup Volcanoes, and defeat the Cheese Ants? All on his own? He might need some help. But Space Dogs, Astrocats, and Mousetronauts have always been sworn enemies! Can they put aside their differences to save the Spooniverse?  This hilarious offering from the award-winning Mini Grey is a non-stop adventure, a celebration of imaginative play, and a triumphant story in which sworn enemies become . . . sworn friends!

Space Dog

Steve Sheinkin

Neil Swaab

WARNING: DO NOT BELIEVE THE STORY YOU’RE ABOUT TO READ. Well, you can believe some of it. There is some real history. But also hijinks. Time travel. And famous figures setting off on adventures that definitely never happened—till now. Time is getting twisted, and it’s up to two kids to straighten things out. The students of Ms. Maybee’s class used to think history was boring, but that was before time started to get twisted! When a spaceship carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin leaves 1969—and lands in 1869 Texas—cowboy Nat Love decides to trade in his horse for a trip to the moon. Can siblings Doc and Abby untwist history and get everyone back where they belong? Houston, we have a problem! Check out Neil Armstrong and Nat Love, Space Cowboys and all of the hilarious books in the Time Twisters series. Using his in-depth knowledge of American history, award winning author Steve Sheinkin creates exciting adventures through time with historical figures going AWOL and true fun facts about each person. History will never be boring again! Don’t miss the other books in the Time Twisters series, including Abraham Lincoln, Pro Wrestler and Abigail Adams, Pirate of the Caribbean!

Neil Armstrong and Nat Love, Space Cowboys

In the sixth CatStronauts graphic novel, the elite team gets invited to test the first-ever space hotel! With a highly sophisticated Artificial Intelligence running the hotel and attending to the CatStronauts’ every need, what could possibly go wrong? Darby Fuzzelton, the world’s richest cat, is determined to open the first-ever space hotel! Her first guests? The elite CatStronauts along with a few kittens who were top of their class at Space Camp. Their job? To prove that her space hotel is safe to the public.When the cats and kittens arrive, they’re greeted by AVA, an advanced Artificial Intelligence system programmed to handle countless hotel operations. Upon seeing Cat-Stro-Bot and his ability to go ANYWHERE, AVA becomes obsessed with gaining her own freedom. With AVA distracted, all the hotel systems go on the fritz! Will the CatStronauts escape this hotel of horror?In this full-color graphic novel, author/illustrator Drew Brockington pushes the CatStronauts team further than ever, but there’s still lots of humor, teamwork, and tuna fish by the ton!

Digital Disaster

Ben Thompson

Erik Slader

Tim Foley

In this second installment of the Epic Fails series, explore the many failures that made up the Space Race, paving the way for humanity’s eventual success at reaching the stars. Today, everyone is familiar with Neil Armstrong’s famous words as he first set foot on the moon: “one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” He made it look easy, but America’s journey to the moon was anything but simple. In 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, into orbit, America had barely crossed the starting line of the great Space Race. Later that year, our first attempt was such a failure that the media nicknamed it “Kaputnik.” Still, we didn’t give up. With each failure, we gleaned valuable information about what went wrong, and how to avoid it in the future. So we tried again. And again. And each time we failed, we failed a little bit better. The Epic Fails series by Erik Slader and Ben Thompson explores the humorous backstories behind a variety of historical discoveries, voyages, experiments, and innovations that didn’t go as expected but succeeded nonetheless, showing that many of mankind’s biggest success stories are the result of some pretty epic failures indeed.

The Race to Space: Countdown to Liftoff

Brad Meltzer

Christopher Eliopoulos

“A biography of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon”–

I am Neil Armstrong

Torben Kuhlmann

A long time ago a mouse learned to fly . . . and crossed the Atlantic.  

But what happened next? Torben Kuhlmann’s stunning new book transports readers to the moon and beyond! On the heels of Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse comes Armstrong: A Mouse on the Moon—where dreams are determined only by the size of your imagination and the biggest innovators are the smallest of all. The book ends with a brief non-fiction history of human space travel—from Galileo’s observations concerning the nature of the universe to man’s first steps on the moon.

Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon

Lori Alexander

Allison Black

Ground Control to Major Baby: Could you be an astronaut?

Does baby have what it takes to become an astronaut? That’s an affirmative, Houston! Discover all the incredible ways that prove baby already has what it takes to become an astronaut – from growing healthy teeth to eating from plastic packs to working in small spaces. Includes lots of fun astronaut facts to help prepare little ones for takeoff!

Future Baby is an adorable new board book series that takes a playful peek into an assortment of powerful careers and shows little ones how their current skills match up with the job at hand. With Future Baby, babies can be anything!

Future Astronaut

Lucy Truman

Erin Teagan

In her second novel, Luciana is off to youth astronaut training camp! She hopes to be chosen to dive to an underwater habitat where real astronauts train for life in space. But when Luci accuses her diving partner of sabotage, no one believes her and her chances of making the diving team sink fast. Things hit rock bottom when Luci has an underwater crisis. Suddenly, making the dive team isn’t her biggest worry. She’ll have to conquer her fears if she ever wants to make it to Mars. If she can’t, will she have to kiss her dreams of becoming an astronaut good-bye?

Luciana: Braving the Deep

Alan Marks

Project Apollo (U.S.)

the moon

Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon. That was the Apollo 11 mission. Since that moment, six more Apollo missions were launched, five successfully reached the moon, and eleven more men walked on its surface. In simple, poetic verse, Suzanne Slade takes readers on a trip to the Moon aboard all the Apollo missions from 1969 through 1972. Suzanne was able to work closely with astronaut Alan Bean, the lunar module pilot of the Apollo 12 landing. Backmatter includes a note from Alan Bean, information about the rockets and vehicles used, highlights from the missions, and more.

Daring Dozen: The Twelve Who Walked on the Moon

Buzz Aldrin

Wendell Minor

I walked on the moon. This is my journey. But it didn’t begin when I stepped on board Apollo 11 on July 1, 1969. It began the day I was born. Becoming an astronaut took more than education, discipline, and physical strength. It took years of determination and believing that any goal is possible—from riding a bike alone across the George Washington Bridge at age ten to making a footprint on the Moon. I always knew the Moon was within my reach—and that I was ready to be on the team that would achieve the first landing. But it was still hard to believe when I took my first step onto the Moon’s surface. We all have our own dreams. This is the story of how mine came true.

Reaching for the Moon

Kristy Dempsey

Sarah Green

Marthanne and her father sit side by side, looking out over their mill village as the moon glows in the sky. Marthanne hopes that one day, man will walk on the moon, and she knows her father is helping America accomplish this mission: The fabric he weaves forms one layer in the astronauts’ spacesuits. Papa insists he’s only making a living, but Marthanne knows his work is part of history, and she’s proud. She tries to be patient, but she can’t stop imagining the moon mission: the astronauts tumbling through space, the fabric her papa made traveling all the way up into the sky. When the astronauts blast off and Neil Armstrong finally takes his first steps on the moon, Marthanne watches in wonder. She knows her papa put a man on the moon.

Papa Put a Man on the Moon

Jim Ottaviani

Maris Wicks

A nonfiction graphic novel for middle grade readers about notable female astronauts.

America may have put the first man on the moon, but it was the Soviet space program that made Valentina Tereshkova the first woman in space. Meanwhile, in the United States, NASA’s first female astronauts were racing toward milestones of their own. These trail-blazing women were admitted into Group 9, NASA’s first mixed-gender class. They had the challenging task of convincing the powers that be that a woman’s place is in space. But once they’d been admitted into the training program, they discovered that NASA had plenty to learn about how to make space travel possible for all humans.

In Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier, Jim Ottaviani and illustrator Maris Wicks capture the great humor and incredible drive of Mary Cleve, Valentina Tereshkova, and the first women in space.

Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier

Marc-Etienne Peintre

Sophie Dussausois

The Ultimate Spotlight books have all the fun, facts, and hands-on action of the incredibly successful Ultimate series, but in a focused, more-compact, and affordable format. Flaps, pull tabs, and many other moveable parts show young children how astronauts train for missions into space. Pull a tab to launch a rocket, lift flaps to see inside a space suit, or turn the page to land the capsule safely on the ground. Chockfull of age appropriate information, this book is an out-of-this-world look at astronauts and what they do.

Astronauts

Lori Haskins Houran

Francisca Marquez

Blast off into the sky and visit the International Space Station! A lively, rhythmical story and detailed illustrations take readers on a trip to the ISS, where astronauts sleep zipped up and walk in space. This great read-aloud includes information (verified by NASA staff) about the ISS. Fact-filled and fun, this story will send young minds soaring.

A Trip Into Space

Carlos Pazos

Discover the mysteries of science with Future Geniuses!

Come along with Valentina, the astronaut, on this incredible journey to Mars and become a space genius!

Up past the exosphere, thermosphere, and mesosphere, we will find outer space and learn the answers to some big questions.

What is the ozone layer? 

What is gravity?

Which countries have successfully traveled into space?

What are the parts of rockets called, and what does each part do?

What is space like?

Future Geniuses is a collection that will help families spend a lot of time reading and learning together. Through simple text and fun illustrations, author and scientist Carlos Pazos makes the subjects of space and space travel approachable and easy to understand for even the smallest scientists.

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