The Best Kids Books About Space, Astronauts, and Planets

Are you constantly trying to find ways to feed your little ones love of space? Our daughters absolutely love anything having to do with space – stars, black holes, comets, meteors, black holes, you name it. I am amazed at their knowledge level at such a young age.

With kids it’s important to take advantage of children’s natural fascination for learning about certain subjects, and for kids there are few subjects that can inspire the same level of mystery and fascination as outer space does. Even as an adult I still find space completely amazing!

As a parent, exposing your children to information about space at an early age is one of the best things you can do to get them interested in crucial academic disciplines like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (known collectively as STEM). Children’s aeronautics and space books are and excellent way to foster a life-long love of space and technology.

And what better way to learn about space then well-written, beautifully illustrated books about space for kids? None. There’s nothing quite like reading books about the infinite expanse of the universe or the limitless possibilities of the future to get children’s minds racing.

With that in mind, here are some of our favorite books for kids that about outer space, astronauts, and the future.

Children’s Books & Stories About Space

There’s No Place Like Space by Tish Rabe, Illustrated by Aristides Ruiz

We have a so much love for Dr. Seuss in our home, so naturally this is one of our favorites. This educational space book is very creatively done and entertaining, while still managing to be accurate. While this book was not actually written by Seuss, it follows the usual Dr. Seuss fashion with its Seuss-speak, wonderful humor, funny words, rhymes, and phrases. The illustrations are great as well and the book should definitely be on the shelf of any little Seuss lover who also happens to be a space lover.

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space by Catherine D. Hughes, Illustrated by David A. Aguilar

One of the bestselling space kids books available, this will quickly become one of your future-astronaut’s favorite night time reading books . The write ups are written in a way that is easy enough for young children to understand and the the book contains a wealth of knowledge about all different aspects of the universe., so it becomes a tool for us to learn together. This book is written in a way that will grow well with your child – it can be appreciated by the youngest children and still contain useful info for older kids. Your kid will love showing you the new and amazing things that they learn about the cosmos and space exploration.

Children’s Books About Astronauts

Who Was Neil Armstrong by Roberta Edwards

Although many people know Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, most don’t know very much about the rest of his life. This is an excellent book for children aged 4-10, especially if they need to write a school project biography about Neil Armstrong. The Who HQ series of bibliographical books feature a number of famous historical figures and they are always well researched and written.

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed, illustrated by Stasia Burrington

This is a bibliographical story of the life of young Mae Jeminson, who would eventually grow up to become the first African American woman to travel in space. It’s a wonderfully crafted account of young Mae which will inspire other young girls to shoot for the stars and never let anything deter them from their dreams and goals.  Mae Among the Stars is beautifully illustrated and features inspiration from the first page to the last – perfect for inspiring young boys and girls alike.

Children’s Books About Planets

National Geographic Readers: Planets by Elizabeth Carney

A beautifully illustrated book from National Geographic, this book is perfect for engaging children’s interest into the planets in our solar system. Although it contains a lot of advanced information, it’s written in a way that young readers can still comprehend and in a way that won’t talk down to them. This level 2 book is perfect for helping kids with their solar system reports as it includes tons of useful facts all about the planets.

Children’s Books About Women in The Space Industry

Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly, illustrated by laura Freeman

You may be familiar with these ladies from the highly successful movie by the same name. This is the famous story of four African American women who worked at NASA during its earliest years. Their strength under adversity, their brilliance, and their incredible skills in mathematics made an enormous contribution to NASA. The vocabulary used in this book is somewhat complex, but the words are always defined in a kid-friendly manner.  The illustrations in this book are gorgeous, the story important and inspiring and made accessible to young ones  This book also does an excellent job of telling the reader about the time period when this all took place. When looking for inclusive kids books about the space industry, this is a tough one to beat.

Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space by Libby Jackson

Galaxy Girls is a collection of 50 short bibliographical essays about the often overlooked pioneer women who impacted the space industry. Besides female astronauts there are also a huge range of exceptional and extraordinary women who contributed in many meaningful ways.  The book includes women such as the seamstress that sewed space clothes, the scientists who designed necessary technical equipment, and even female rights activists who fought to get women to be allowed in the space industry in the first place. When discussing children’s books about space I would say this is one of the best, and it is excellent for both boys and girls of all ages.

Space Books For Babies and Younger Children

Hello, World! Solar System by Jill McDonald

This one’s a board book, so it’s best suited as a first introduction to space for young children ages 0-4.  and Hopefully this will help to encourage a fascination with the night sky, our solar system, and science in general. Beautifully illustrated with bright colors and shapes, this book focuses on the planets and other objects of our solar system. Your child will love pointing to the stars, planets, and the moon, as you read to them. Since it’s a board book, it’ll stay nice and sturdy even if your little one decides to start checking on the planets.

Wrapping Up

As NASA announces new missions and billionaires like Tesla’s Elon Musk, Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos, and Virgin’s Richard Branson continue to start more and more rocket companies, space is definitely a popular hot topic right now.

In the near future it can almost be guaranteed that there will be more and more excellent career opportunities related to space, so getting your kids interested space at an early age could really help your child succeed in their life.

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this post helpful! Are there any cool kids space stories we missed?  Let us know!

Chris Gannon

Chris Gannon is the creator of Story Yeti. He lives with his wife and two young daughters in Florida and likes reading and also olives.