Adventures for young readers

Aviation- and space-themed books offer a galaxy of adventure for young readers

Children’s book authors are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with an array of titles focused on everything from space exploration to aviation.

One of these is “Alis the Aviator,” by Missouri City resident and Canadian native Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail, about the life of Dr. Alis Kennedy, the first indigenous woman to obtain a commercial pilot’s license in Canada. Metcalfe-Chenail will be featured at a story time at the Lone Star Flight Museum, 11551 Aerospace Ave., at 9:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. (Tickets are $5 per person; free for 3 and younger.)

“I grew up around aviation, so there was lots of exploration in my childhood,” Metcalfe-Chenail said. “In flight and in space, there’s this sense of following your dreams.”

Here are some other picture books to take young readers to the moon and dream among the stars:

“If You Had Your Birthday Party on the Moon” By Joyce Lapin, illustrated by Simona Ceccarelli Sterling Books, $16.95, pages 40 Ages 7 and older

Joyce Lapin has likely created one of the best ways to teach children about the moon — by holding a birthday bash on its surface. “Throw or hit a ball on the Moon, and it’ll fly six times farther than it would on Earth,” she writes. With happy illustrations by Simona Ceccarelli, readers can learn that the moon’s low gravity makes gymnastics as easy as breathing and that if you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, “you’ll only weigh 17 on the Moon.” This is definitely a great teaching resources.

“Destination Moon” By Seymour Simon HarperCollins, $17.99, 56 pages

Bestselling science writer Seymour Simon, who has written more than 300 books for young readers, has created a picture book that shows how science and technology made the moon landing possible. “My reaction to the Apollo moon landing was rooted in my early childhood fascitions nation with science fiction and outer space,” Simon recently told Publishers Weekly. “I want my readers to feel those same sensalittle of wonder and excitement.”

“Baby Astronaut” By Dr. Laura Gehl and Daniel Wiseman HarperCollins, $8.99, 22 pages Newborn-4

Move over Baby Shark. Dr. Laura Gehl brings forth “Baby Astronaut,” a fun board book for preschoolers about space exploration. The pigtail-wearing character, Baby Astronaut, flies up into space. She wears a spacesuit and even works on experiments in space. This vibrant book may have your one dreaming of becoming an astronaut one day.

Kalpna Patel Illustration from “Alis the Aviator” / Tundra “Alis the Aviator” author Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail will be featured at story time at the Lone Star Flight Museum on Friday and Saturday.

“Out There” By Tom Sullivan HarperCollins, $17.99, 32 pages Ages 4-8 Is there life in space? Do aliens really exists? Author and illustrator Tom Sullivan poses these questions and more in his latest, “Out There.” With big, colorful illustrations, the book creates a thought-provoking and imaginative narrative about life in space: “What if we, human beings inhabiting planet Earth, are someone else’s alien life?”

“Look Up With Me: Neil deGrasse Tyson: A Life Among the Stars” By Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Lorraine Nam HarperCollins, $17.99, 40 pages Ages 4-8 Author Jennifer Berne examines the life of famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson in “Look Up With Me.” With Lorraine Nam’s collage illustrations, the book takes readers from Tyson’s childhood when he would gaze into the sky, to his journey to head New York City’s Hayden Planetarium.