The Astronaut's Handbook
Author: Louie Stowell
Illustrator: Roger Simo
Publisher: Usborne
Given all the excitement about a Briton finally making it to the International Space Station, it might not totally surprise you to hear that my primary age kid is currently 'doing' Space at school. Yesterday she watched the live broadcast with Tim Peake via the 'Cosmic Classroom', along with thousands of other school children. Her school bag is heavy because she is transporting our entire range of space related books into and out of school each day. She has been watching the Stargazing Live programmes on BBC2. And she is doing a Learning Log about the phases of the moon, recording where it is and what it looks like each day. She keeps asking us tricky questions about the stars and the planets (luckily her brother is our resident expert on the subject). To say that she is slightly obsessed with space at the moment would be an understatement.
On that basis, when I did my latest round of book buying on The Book People, I put a copy of The Astronaut's Handbook in the basket (an absolute bargain at £2.99). It is published by Usborne, it has a foreword by Tim Peake, and she let me borrow it so that I could read it as well. The Handbook does exactly what it says on the tin - is it a simplified guide to the process of becoming an astronaut. It is written in association with the UK Space Agency, and ESA, so you know that the contents are accurate and up to date. The author doesn't mince his words - he is completely honest about how long, complicated and tricky the process will be. Last night we had a long chat about whether this could be the career for her (she's good at maths, but not so sure about the whole G-Forces thing, or learning Russian, either.)
The handbook is well written, it has plenty of detail and it is very funny in parts. I loved the way that the illustrations included both genders, and people from a range of cultural backgrounds. The book makes it clear that, if you want to be an astronaut, you will have to work hard at school, then study and train for years afterwards (oh and put up with feeling sick as well). It's on sale at the moment (January 2016) at The Book People website. If you've got children of your own who are interested in space, or if you are doing 'space' with your class, I highly recommend it.
Author: Louie Stowell
Illustrator: Roger Simo
Publisher: Usborne
Given all the excitement about a Briton finally making it to the International Space Station, it might not totally surprise you to hear that my primary age kid is currently 'doing' Space at school. Yesterday she watched the live broadcast with Tim Peake via the 'Cosmic Classroom', along with thousands of other school children. Her school bag is heavy because she is transporting our entire range of space related books into and out of school each day. She has been watching the Stargazing Live programmes on BBC2. And she is doing a Learning Log about the phases of the moon, recording where it is and what it looks like each day. She keeps asking us tricky questions about the stars and the planets (luckily her brother is our resident expert on the subject). To say that she is slightly obsessed with space at the moment would be an understatement.
On that basis, when I did my latest round of book buying on The Book People, I put a copy of The Astronaut's Handbook in the basket (an absolute bargain at £2.99). It is published by Usborne, it has a foreword by Tim Peake, and she let me borrow it so that I could read it as well. The Handbook does exactly what it says on the tin - is it a simplified guide to the process of becoming an astronaut. It is written in association with the UK Space Agency, and ESA, so you know that the contents are accurate and up to date. The author doesn't mince his words - he is completely honest about how long, complicated and tricky the process will be. Last night we had a long chat about whether this could be the career for her (she's good at maths, but not so sure about the whole G-Forces thing, or learning Russian, either.)
The handbook is well written, it has plenty of detail and it is very funny in parts. I loved the way that the illustrations included both genders, and people from a range of cultural backgrounds. The book makes it clear that, if you want to be an astronaut, you will have to work hard at school, then study and train for years afterwards (oh and put up with feeling sick as well). It's on sale at the moment (January 2016) at The Book People website. If you've got children of your own who are interested in space, or if you are doing 'space' with your class, I highly recommend it.
