Zoom by Sha'an D'Anthes
Lothian Children's Books, 2018. ISBN 9780734417633
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Planets, Solar system, STEM,
Astronomy. For an introduction to the planets in our solar system
and the order in which they appear from the sun, this is a wonderful
book. With clear, bright and inviting illustrations bound to entice
the youngest reader, the text tells us of Scout a young inventor,
explorer and dreamer. Each day he thinks about things and builds his
space ship, ready to be launched in his back yard. In space he
visits each of the planets in our Solar System in turn, naming them
and showing some of their details. Each of the planets is likened to
an animal encouraging the smaller reader to associate that planet
with something known and in reading this book, learn the order of
the planets. So the first planet, Mercury, the smallest of the
planets is fashioned as a small teddy bear lying on a rug, the
second, Venus is shaped like a kangaroo, and shown to be a very
bright planet.
The third rock from the sun, Earth, is given the shape of a large
bear, tickled by people walking across her belly. Earth is followed
by little red Mars, a fox smiling at the passing astronaut. Then a
whale, the mighty Jupiter, and Saturn, an elephant girdled by its
rings, followed by Uranus, a green crocodile and finally Neptune, a
blue tiger, the last of the planets. With a flurry of noises and
lights, Scout realises that he is running out of fuel. He puts out a
call for help and gets a response from the tiny frozen dwarf planet,
Pluto, but before anything can happen, Pluto sneezes and Scout lands
in his own backyard. Scout the adventurer has had a very busy day.
This joyous book will give younger readers a basic understanding of
where the planets of our Solar System sit in relation with each
others, and give them a little information about each planet through
Scout's adventure.
Independent author/illustrator Sha'an has produced a stunning read
aloud book which will find a place in school libraries, homes and
classrooms. Eager readers will see the link between the planets and
Scout's mobile above his bed, reflecting the animals shown as each
planet.
Fran Knight