May 3rd is National Space Day, an opportunity for kids to enjoy the wonders of space.
We wil start with “Zathura” by Chris Van Allsburg, 2002. This was his sequel to “Jumanji”, taking two brothers into space, as they have to play the game to get home. My grandkids have read the book and seen the movie. Great space travel fantasy.
“Rocketship: An Incredible Journey through Science Fiction and Science Fact” by Robert Malone, 1977. This is a great book about rockets through history, and through science fiction. From a Leonardo da Vinci rocket-like missile, to Neil Armstrong, to “2001 A space Odyssey”, one can enjoy what is real and what could have been. I have had this book since it came out-43 years ago.
“The Hubble Atlas of Galaxies” by Allan Sandage, 1961. Bought this from book sale Waukegan Public Library-discarded book. This is an atlas of different galaxies that Dr Edwin Hubble had photographed and classified. Looking through the pages of pictures, one really could get the sense of ‘we are not alone.’ While this book is now outdated, and the Hubble Space Telescope (named after Edwin Hubble) has generated phenominal new photographs, the black and white galaxies in this book are still eerily thought-prevoking of what else is out there.
I’ll end with “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan. published 1980. This is a wonderful book that was based on Carl Sagan’s TV show. Sagan could make scientific ideas not only understandable, but exciting as well. This is definately a book to get comfortable with and spend the evening traveling through space.
“A galaxy is composed of gas and dust and stars – billions upon billions of stars. Every star may be a sun to someone.” Carl Sagan.
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