Space and nature books earn their place when a child can look at the real thing afterward. The moon is out. Snow is on the ground. A seed is in a cup on the windowsill. The book gives them words for what they just saw.
There\'s No Place Like Space is the easiest read in this pile, with the Cat in the Hat doing the tour. Moonshot and The Darkest Dark need you nearby, because the pictures carry a lot and the ideas are big. Over and Under the Snow and A Seed Is Sleepy reward a slow look.
The National Geographic space book is a lap book. Let them choose the planet. You are not assigning chapters.
Pair one story with one fact book. A child who only gets facts can miss the feeling of the dark. A child who only gets the story may still want to know how far the moon is.
Go outside afterward if the sky is clear. Two minutes of looking does more than an extra chapter, and then the book has somewhere to land.
