I have always found space and space travel interesting. So I am always thrilled when we get the chance to check out fun new space books for kids! This list of books about space and astronauts are sure to spark a child’s interest in space, and may encourage them to want to learn more about it.

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Learning about Space

Pluto Gets the Call

Written by Adam Rex and illustrated by Laurie Keller

This hilarious picture book introduces the reader to Pluto, a spunky little planet that gets a call that he is no longer a planet. As Pluto struggles with this news, he heads through the solar system. He visits each planet, looking for comfort and providing interesting tidbits about each one. When he gets to the Sun, it makes him feel special and loved, and reminds him why he is unique. The illustrations feature adorable planets with expressive faces, and the text is shared through speech bubbles, making the book flow as a conversation. The back of the book includes interesting information and facts about the solar system.

Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars

Written by Richard Ho and illustrated by Katherine Roy

This story follows Curiosity, the rover that touched down on Mars in 2012 and helped us to learn more about the red planet. The simple text follows Curiosity’s travels across the planet and how it interacts with the environment around it. The illustrations steal the show, highlighting the large, red landscapes, the vicious storms on the surface and the incredible sights seen by the rovers sent there. The back of the book includes a detailed illustration of Curiosity, as well as information on Mars, and details about all of the rovers that have explored it. It will definitely inspire young kids to learn more about the red planet.

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head

Written by Allan Wolf and illustrated by Anna Raff

This anthology is full of space themed poetry that uses humor and scientific fact to get kids excited about space and space travel. The poems use different styles and rhyming patterns to teach kids about various parts of the universe. The large and colorful illustrations are full of hilarious humanized planets, stars, rocket ships, and more. The book includes poems that are silly and ridiculous, as well as ones that are sentimental and serious.

Related Post: Fun Poetry Anthologies for Kids

Kids Who Love Space

Astro Girl

Written and illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max

This story follows a little girl named Astrid who loves space and dreams of becoming an astronaut. Astrid and her dad enjoy acting out different scenarios that astronauts face in space, until it is time to go pick up her mother, who it turns out is an inspirational woman herself. The sweet story inspires kids to want to go to space, and the back of the book includes information about space travel, and some inspirational women who have made history in the study of space.

Margot and the Moon Landing

Written by A.C. Fitzpatrick and illustrated by Erika Medina

Margot is a young girl who love space and spends her time rereading her favorite books about space travel. All she reads about and talks about is space, to the point that those around her barely listen anymore. After she makes an ill conceived wish, she finds herself only able to communicate through snippets of Neil Armstrong’s famous speech from the moon landing. How can she get her family and friends to hear her? While she is stuck only speaking Armstrong’s words, the illustrations change to show her dressed up as an astronaut and floating as if lost in space. This is a great way to show how disconnected Margot feels from those around her.

Related Post: Take Your Learning to the Moon

Go for the Moon: A Rocket, a Boy, and the First Moon Landing

Written and illustrated by Chris Gall

This book follows a young boy as he prepares for the launch of Apollo 11 and watches it go on it’s mission to the moon. The text is full of information about space travel, rocket science, and the trip to the moon. The detailed factual text will go over the heads of very young kids, but the illustrations will keep the attention of older readers. Kids who are interested in space travel will cheer along as the narrator watches this remarkable journey from his home. The illustrations are full of details, highlighting the science behind the mission, and the structure of the rocket. The back of the book includes a glossary of vocabulary introduced throughout the book, and the resources for further learning.

Related Post: Children’s Books about the Universe

Silly Stories Set in Space

Super Mazes in Space

Written by Loic Mehee

When the villain Reducto creates the Galaxy Vacuum, intent on shrinking galaxies and sucking them up into jars, it is up to a young girl named Celeste and her partner Neutrino to save the day. This fun interactive book features complicated and intricate mazes that pop up, pull out, and move, as Celeste and Neutrino battle to save the galaxy. Each page is full of incredible details, and the puzzles are all different, forcing kids to think differently as they make their way through. The back of the book includes the solution to each puzzle for those that are stumped.

Reading Beauty

Written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Meg Hunt

Lex is a princess living on a planetoid that is full of book lovers. On her 15th birthday, her parents take all of the books away. They tell her that she was cursed as a baby by a wicked fairy, who decreed that she would get a paper cut at the age of 15. This cut would cause her to fall into a death like sleep. Lex doesn’t want to live in a bleak world without books. So she decides to go on a mission with her dog Prince to find the fairy and get the curse reversed. This intergalactic twist on the tale of Sleeping Beauty is sure to delight little bookworms, especially the ending that has a much sweeter resolution.

How to Be on the Moon

Written and illustrated by Viviane Schwarz

Anna is a young girl that decides one day that she wants to go to the moon. Her friend Crocodile tries to convince her that a trip to the moon isn’t possible, but she is determined. Crocodile offers up good reasons for why they can’t go. But Anna has an answer for every one of his excuses. Together they practice the skills they think they will need to go to the moon, and they have a lot of fun exploring together. The text is full of funny conversations between the two characters, and the illustrations encourage kids to use their imaginations.

AstroNuts: Mission One: The Plant Planet

Written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Steven Weinberg

The world is ending and it is time for humans to find a new home. So NNASA (not a typo) creates 4 mutant animals and send them on a mission to explore other planets. When LaserShark, AstroWolf, SmartHawk and StinkBug land on their first planet, will they find it hospitable, or will it be more than they bargained for? This silly chapter book is full of ridiculous situations, but it also has a basis in real science. The illustrations are sure to have kids laughing along, while the back of the book shares some of the original artwork that was reused in the book.

Check out these fun space themed printables too!

What are your favorite children’s books about space? Share in the comments below!

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