Newly updated, with many new photographs (2014). Now availble in paperback.

REVIEWS:

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Library

(2014) The initial excitement of the television show Cosmos has worn off a tad, but that doesn’t mean its popularity has ebbed and waned. What better time then to update this Simon classic? Goodbye, Pluto! Consider yourself excised from the…

(2014) The initial excitement of the television show Cosmos has worn off a tad, but that doesn’t mean its popularity has ebbed and waned. What better time then to update this Simon classic? Goodbye, Pluto! Consider yourself excised from the record. And happily, we learn that this will be the first in Mr. Simon’s reprinted series plus we’ll be seeing four all new titles as well. Woot!

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BOOKLIST

Reusing many of the striking NASA photographs from his books on individual planets and the Sun, Simon takes readers on a quick tour of the Solar System. After several introductory pages placing the system within the galaxy and showing the…

Reusing many of the striking NASA photographs from his books on individual planets and the Sun, Simon takes readers on a quick tour of the Solar System. After several introductory pages placing the system within the galaxy and showing the order of the planets, he discusses the Sun, planets, moons, and comets and meteors. Dramatic, full-color photos offer stunning views of these objects. Occasionally, paintings and diagrams also illustrate points, such as the greenhouse effect on Venus and the asteroid belt. In a practical move, Simon supplies a great deal of planetary information (distance from the Sun, equatorial diameter, atmospheric gases, surface gravity, number of satellites and rings) on the endpapers, along with a picture showing the relative sizes of the planets and the Sun. One of those "must have" books for children's nonfiction collections, this will be useful as well as beautiful for years to come. Consider multiple copies.

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MyEfficientPlanet.com

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) Sailoil says: I bought this book for my seven year old son, in the hope that he would work his way into it over time (recommended age is from 9). He is able to read quite a lot of the text at this stage, with a bit of help. This is great for his reading practice. Most importantly it is a book he wants to read. The photographs are excellent, and there is more than enough information for him at this stage in development. It is a perfect “Show and Tell” item to bring into the class, with the added bonus that it has a hard binding. His five year old sister is also very taken with the drawings of the solar system and the planets and moons. It is a book guaranteed to attract the interest of any child. Rating: 4 / 5

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) Sailoil says: I bought this book for my seven year old son, in the hope that he would work his way into it over time (recommended age is from 9). He is able to read quite a lot of the text at this stage, with a bit of help. This is great for his reading practice. Most importantly it is a book he wants to read. The photographs are excellent, and there is more than enough information for him at this stage in development. It is a perfect “Show and Tell” item to bring into the class, with the added bonus that it has a hard binding. His five year old sister is also very taken with the drawings of the solar system and the planets and moons. It is a book guaranteed to attract the interest of any child. Rating: 4 / 5

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SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA

Gr 3-6. Having worked his way through individual volumes on the Sun and its galactic companions, Simon now offers a brief overview of the solar system itself. The full-color photographs and illustrations are spectacular. Each of the planets gets several…

Gr 3-6. Having worked his way through individual volumes on the Sun and its galactic companions, Simon now offers a brief overview of the solar system itself. The full-color photographs and illustrations are spectacular. Each of the planets gets several pages of coverage, with comets, meteors, and asteroids also receiving attention. This book serves best as an introduction to the single topic books since the information presented here is quite brief. The endpapers have a nicely organized chart of useful statistics such as diameter, rotation period, revolution period, etc., for each planet. Not sufficient in itself for most report needs, this title's eye-catching illustrations and understandable text should encourage young readers to look for further information.

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MyEfficientPlanet.com

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) Anonymous says: Simon explores space using fantastic photos from real spacecraft and satellites. My two-year-old son received this book for Christmas and we read it to him nearly every night before bed. He…

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) Anonymous says: Simon explores space using fantastic photos from real spacecraft and satellites. My two-year-old son received this book for Christmas and we read it to him nearly every night before bed. He is fascinated with the photographs, and as a result of his attachment to this book he can name every planet and many of the satellites that surround them. It is amazing! He loves space now because of this book. Kudos, Simon! Rating: 5 / 5

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MyEfficientPlanet.com

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) S. vaneck says: There are a lot of solar system books that are pretty, but the writing is what sets this one apart. Good sized text that is easy to read, simple yet…

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) S. vaneck says: There are a lot of solar system books that are pretty, but the writing is what sets this one apart. Good sized text that is easy to read, simple yet concise, and fun. The author also does a good job of conveying his excitement to the reader. He isn’t just throwing out facts for memorizing. Rating: 5 / 5

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MyEfficientPlanet.com

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) Carol C. says: If you’re trying to choose between several different books on the solar system, choose this! It’s beautiful and intriguing for a five year old, readable for an 8 -10 year…

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) Carol C. says: If you’re trying to choose between several different books on the solar system, choose this! It’s beautiful and intriguing for a five year old, readable for an 8 -10 year old, and educational for folks of all ages. After a little research on amazon, I purchased three solar system/space books for a birthday gift and this book was by far the best received of the three. I have since purchased a couple more. The book is exceptionally well done with broad and lasting appeal. The photographs are stunning and plentiful, as in a coffee-table book. Nearly every other page features a full-page photograph. The text is readable. The sentences are short and clearly-written, but they’re not dumbed down in any way. There are many full pages of text, but all are double-spaced and there is abundant white space around the text, so it’s not so dense as to scare off early readers. Everything about the book is child-friendly, but it’s not a cute or silly kid’s book in any way. I think most adults would find plenty to learn from the text and would appreciate the fact that one doesn’t need an astrophysics degree to understand it. One important note — it’s updated. Pluto no longer gets star billing. Pluto is mentioned as a dwarf or smaller planet, along with Ceres and Eris. Overall, I highly recommend this book, and I would not hesitate to consider any other collaboration between author Seymour Simon and the Smithsonian Institution. Rating: 5 / 5

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MyEfficientPlanet.com

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) Anonymous says: I have never written a review for a book, but this book has inspired me to do so. The photographs in the book are large and stunning. They are spectacular. Children…

(User Reviews from a leading ecological blog) Anonymous says: I have never written a review for a book, but this book has inspired me to do so. The photographs in the book are large and stunning. They are spectacular. Children are drawn to the book because it is so beautiful. We bought this book for our 2 1/2 year old for Christmas, along with a set of plastic planets. Within weeks, she could name every planet. Further, she could tell us which planets are bigger than earth, which planets are smaller than earth, which planets have rings (and how many rings each of those planets has), how many moons each planet has (and which planets have no moons), why Mercury’s surface has so many craters, which planets are hot, which planets are cold, etc., etc. In short, this book is beautiful and informative. It is very well done! It is a fantastic introduction to our solar system. We are looking forward to reading more books by Seymour Simon!!!!!!! Rating: 5 / 5

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