Ben Newman Books

Professor Astro Cat is much loved in schools for non-fiction guides relating to space, atoms, human bodies and deep-sea voyages. Frontiers of Space was first published in 2013 as the starting book in the series and is now back with a new edition featuring eight new spreads and updated details about how rockets work, recent missions to Mars, space junk, black holes, and many more new insights into the ever-developing science of space and the outer reaches of the universe. There’s something new to learn about on every page.

Fictional guide Professor Astro Cat walks his readers through some of the key questions that children might have about the universe, and many more that they’ve probably never even thought about before. Where does our sun go at night? What are stars made of? If the Earth was a cherry tomato, what size would the other planets be (hint: Mars would be a pea and Jupiter a watermelon).

This is a beautifully designed non-fiction book with illustrations by an artist whose use of bold shapes and retro colours draws readers right in to enjoy soaking up the information. Each page has plenty of varied and interesting information to read and – coupled with the quality, durable feel of the book – the purchase of this text is a good investment as readers are likely to get a lot out of each sitting and still be left with plenty to come back and discover.

If you have yet to fall in love with the Astro Cat series, this is a great place to start.