Professor Astro Cat's frontiers of space by Dr Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman

First published in 2013, Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, has been revised and updated for publication in 2022. This attractive and brightly presented edition will appeal to the young space enthusiast. It has gorgeous endpapers showcasing Professor Astro Cat and six friends who will take the reader on a journey through all things space related.

The book begins with a contents page followed by the introduction and the opportunity to read about how Professor Astro Cat will lead the reader to discover the Frontiers of Space. Each chapter is set across a double page spread with quirky and humorous illustrations in a bold and colourful palette. The information is either organised into text boxes or surrounded by plenty of coloured space with clearly labelled diagrams, tables and images.

Chapter one gives an explanation of The Universe, leading to The Birth of a Star, followed by Galaxies, the Sun, the Solar System finally ending with the Future of Space. Other chapters include Early Space Travel which mentions Laika the dog, a rhesus monkey named Albert 2, a chapter on Space fashion which shows the suit worn in 1963 plus the Apollo Moon suit of 1969 and a very enlightening chapter on Space Junk. At the end of the book is a page titled Factoroids which gives some very handy facts plus a glossary and index.

This will be a popular read for primary school aged children as it has facts presented in a fun and engaging way and will be a book to go back to time and time again.

Themes: Space, Facts, Questions & Answers.

Kathryn Beilby