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Age Group: KS1

Non-fiction

When Mae Jemison was a little girl, she dreamed of blasting off into space on a rocket ship. She was so excited as she watched the Apollo Moon landings, but she wondered… why none of the astronauts were women?

Mae loved science and was so bright that she started college at just 16, and was training to be a doctor by the age of 20. She joined the Peace Corps, using her medical knowledge to help people in countries all around the world. Upon returning to the United States, she was accepted into NASA’s astronaut program.

After hard work and training, in 1992 Mae became the first Black woman to travel into space! This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the groundbreaking astronaut’s life.

Non-fiction

Little Neil’s dreams took flight when he rode on his first airplane as a child. After studying aeronautical engineering and time spent in the navy, he became a pilot. From there, he was selected to take a trip to where no human had gone before – the moon! Along with his team, Buzz and Mike, he was the captain of the Apollo 11. And Neil took a giant step for humankind as the first person to ever step onto the surface of the moon.This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the legendary astronaut.

Graphic Novel

Join an astronaut for a day as she goes on her first ever spacewalk, and new crew members arrive. Find out how she trained for her mission and what it’s like living and working in space. How do you eat and drink at zero gravity? How do space toilets work? What are space suits designed for?

Non-fiction

Welcome to Planetarium.

This museum is open all hours. It will take you on an incredible journey through the Solar System and beyond, towards the most distant objects in space. So how big is the Universe? How did it start and when will it end? What exactly is a black hole? And are we really alone in the Universe?

With specially written text for younger readers, step inside to explore the marvellous wonders of the Universe.

Picturebook

First man on the Moon Neil Armstrong reveals the adventure of the first Moon landing, and how the Earth and the Moon came to be, in this unique non-fiction picture book.

A young boy sits up in bed and gazes at the distant Moon through his window. He wonders if, one day, a human will stand on its surface and look back at the Earth. But Earth is already being studied from the Moon. An all-seeing Moon rock of almost impossible age, called Bok, has been looking down at our blue and green planet for millennia.

Geologists – people who study rocks – have a saying: ‘Rocks remember’. During his time, Bok has witnessed some truly wondrous things. Created in the Earth-shattering collision 4.5 billion years ago that led to the formation of the Moon, he has seen stars burst into being and meteors streak through the solar system. He has seen his own Moon surface be transformed with craters, and he has watched a fiery, volcanic planet transform into the haven we know today – as mountain ranges rose up, oceans appeared and dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

And he found himself rudely awoken one early lunar morning by a strange creature picking him up and throwing him into a box.

That is how Bok and Neil Armstrong first met, and this is their (true) story.

Non-fiction

Welcome to the museum! There are more than 160 animal specimens to be discovered in Animalium, the first in a series of virtual museums. Wander the galleries – open 365 days a year – and discover a collection of curated exhibits on every page, accompanied by informative text. Each chapter features a different branch of the tree of life, from the simple sponge to the enormous elephant.

Non-fiction

This captivating book brings the natural world into sharp focus. Beautifully colored and intricately detailed illustrations depict places as exotic and wide-ranging as Senegal’s Niokolo- Koba National Park, Russia’s Sikhote-Alin mountain range, the Sinharaja Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka, Daintree National Park in Australia, the Mexican desert, and China’s bamboo forests. The animals that live in these remote places, cleverly hidden in the trees, plants, and flowers, create a marvelous challenge for young readers to find and identify. Each spread contains more than twenty different species including birds, snakes, frogs, iguanas, leopards, tigers, gorillas, pandas, and wolves. The back of the book is filled with additional information about the animals and their habitats. Young readers will find much to discover, explore, and learn in this absorbing celebration of our planet and the amazing creatures we share it with.

Non-fiction

Winner of the Margaret Mallett Picture Book Award, as part of the English 4-11 Picture Book Awards.

There are living things everywhere: the more we look, the more we find. There are creatures on the tops of the tallest jungle trees, at the bottom of the coldest oceans, even under the feathers of birds and in boiling volcanic pools. So how many different kinds are there? One, two, three … lots! From the award-winning team behind Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes comes Lots, a beautifully illustrated introduction to the concept of biodiversity for younger readers. With words from Nicola Davies and exquisite artwork by Emily Sutton, this groundbreaking book is certain to enchant and inspire children.

Non-fictionPicturebook

A colourful and gentle introduction to the concept of animal babies for young children.

Lots of animals have homes, but not all homes are the same! An orangutan builds a new nest every day, a prairie dog lives in its burrow for years – and a reindeer is always on the move! From the award-winning author Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Jane McGuinness, this beautiful picture book is a perfect introduction to different kinds of animal homes.

Picturebook

If you love cute baby animals, come spend the day in the Australian outback with this adorable and bouncy kangaroo joey.

From Ella Bailey’s acclaimed series of beautiful and educational picture books comes another tale of how one young animal friend spends his day. He’s only a little kangaroo, but that doesn’t stop him being curious and learning all about life in his corner of our big blue planet.

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