Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books > The Search for Our Cosmic Neighbours

The Search for Our Cosmic Neighbours

Please login to bookmark

Book Synopsis

Join Chloe Savage – winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2024: Best Illustrated Book – on a journey across the cosmos with Commander Julia, her team of Astro scientists and her trusty dog, Khan, as they search for life in the stars. Travelling for ten years in their packed spaceship, they visit countless moons and planets of every size and colour, searching for the answer to the greatest question of all: “Are we alone?”

And, just as they’re about to give up … Khan leads them to an incredible discovery – the existence of a (friendly!) alien race. Getting to know this welcoming species calls into question everything these space explorers have ever known – about what to do next, who they are, and what it means to have a home…

Sure to be a favourite for aspiring astronauts and will inspire a love of science, space exploration, and nurture curiosity in the solar system and our galaxy, and beyond. This book is filled with Chloe’s incredible trademark detail – space stations, spaceship cross-sections, and underground crystal caves.

The Artemis III mission aims to land astronauts on the moon in 2026 … and, after that, what’s next?

Part of the HIDDEN WONDERS series for children: award-winning, picture book adventures where science meets myth and magic, making STEM accessible to all children.

This title is currently featured in our homepage Spotlight in partnership with the publisher and has been reviewed by our independent expert panel.

Our Review Panel says...

From the author of the hugely popular The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish (winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize: Best Illustrated Book 2024), this stunning picturebook brings the same sense of adventure out into the far reaches of outer space.

The story follows Commander Julia and her space crew aboard Mission Star Drifter, who have spent years searching the galaxy to answer one big question: are we alone in the universe, or is there other life out there? Exhausted and irritable with each other, Julia and the crew decide to try one last planet, despite expecting another lifeless wasteland. Instead, they make an incredible discovery and, thanks to Khan the dog, find themselves face-to-face with a community of curious space creatures.

There is so much for readers to pore over here. The artwork is gorgeous, washed in galactic hues of rosy pinks, deep purples and soft blues. The watercolour spreads are packed with playful details and visual wit – look closely and you might spot cheeky space crabs raiding the toolboxes, mountains with subtle eyes and a spaceship that looks suspiciously like a living creature itself. Some of the details are fleshed out, and others are hints for the imagination to pursue.

The story celebrates scientific roles and women in STEM – giving distinct perspectives to astrogeologists, astrobotanists, astrobiologists and astrophysicists as they encounter new life. We loved how the book also invites readers to enjoy the philosophy of cosmic exploration, and of what it means to exist in the universe.

Brimming with heart and cosmically uplifting, we recommend this beautiful, thought-provoking addition to school libraries and classroom bookshelves.