Space: a Children’s Encyclopedia

DK reference book DK Children £19.99  HB

Comprehensive, slick and beautifully illustrated, this DK encyclopedia for children lives up to its publisher’s reputation for accessible and trustworthy guides. The introduction promises a ‘voyage through space and time’ and indeed it more than delivers.

Delving into everything from the birth of the Universe and Earth’s place in the Milky Way to the nitty-gritty of how different telescopes work and what it takes to become an astronaut, it employs stunning graphics, fact file boxes, profiles and timelines. All of these will have great appeal for children, as will its thoughtful selection of kid-friendly – indeed adult-friendly – facts. I was delighted to see an astronaut meal laid out in an annotated photo, for example, and to learn that the ISS’s menu offers over 100 different meals and snacks.

While it contains such light-hearted facts, the book doesn’t shy away from hard science or concepts that may be tougher for kids to grasp, like dark matter, dark energy and the use of the electromagnetic spectrum and redshift in astronomy.

The book has been updated since its first edition in 2010 and now mentions significant new events like New Horizons’ flyby of a Kuiper Belt object and the first all-female space walk outside the ISS. It also nods to space tourism plans, although there could have been more depth on this. But this is a tiny criticism of an otherwise all-encompassing overview of space.

Space: a Children’s Encyclopedia is a perfect ratio of the light and fluffy to the serious and informative. A beautiful and enjoyable experience for the reader. ★★★★★