Stars: A Family Guide to the Night Sky

Ford offers an inviting exploration of the night sky, giving beginning stargazers an overview of constellations, the solar system, and topics including the Big Bang, gravity, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Jokey quips in Broadbent’s illustrations add playful touches (“Mmmmmmm yummy!” says a black hole pictured with pointy teeth), and Ford includes a wealth of details and ideas to pique readers’ curiosity (“Astronomers, using their most powerful instruments, have been able to observe things as they were when the first galaxies appeared 13 billion years ago”). Punch-out cards ask readers to seek out specific constellations and sketch star positions to gain a sense of Earth’s rotational movement. Four pages of stickers are included, as is a matching game and a detachable map of constellations in the northern and southern skies. All ages. (Apr.)