THE MOON EXPLORER'S GUIDE BOOK

 The explosion of news about potential MOON landings in the coming years will spark loads of works on the topic, and they'll undoubtedly range in target age from tots to adults. The attention is welcome for a topic as essential to all of our lives as Earth's MOON. 

But interest in that glowing orb is as ancient as life on this planet, from animals howling to adjusting migration and plant growth. Once humans arrived on scene, the MOON was a subject for countless storytelling and cultural developments. In other words, the MOON is a magnetic, irresistible topic for consideration.

SOURCEBOOKS eXplore. 2026

As such, a new picture book feels essential for homes, libraries, schools, and for anyone with an ounce of curiosity. THE MOON EXPLORER'S GUiDE BOOK, with words by Ben Lerwill and pictures by Patrick Corrigan, has much to offer for casual gazers to dedicated investigators. Launched with a "visitor's pass" to board a trip to the moon, a kid and their dog, safely encased in space suits, learn countless fun facts. Some are translated into kid-imaginable math:

The moon is more than 75 million stacked giraffes from the surface of the Earth!

Essentials, like how long has it been there and where it came from, are addressed in text and images. The MOON's puzzling changes in appearances, otherwise known as the phases of the moon, are considered effectively and clearly, while the names of seas (actually craters) are explained in dramatic illustration and powerful text. 

Although the moon landings were within my lifetime and are both undeniable and unforgettable, they appear as jaw-dropping history to young readers. Amusing details assure this is not AI or other contrived storytelling. For example, can you guess the number of bags of astronaut poop left behind? The correct response is provided in these pages. 

Young readers are encouraged to imagine themselves working on the science and engineering that will be involved in future trips to the MOON. Considering the potential span of young audiences for this book, they might well reach a point in the future in which they could travel there even if not in official capacities. From front to back, each spread offers inspiration and new discoveries, which are likely to lead to even more questions and further reading.

If you are reading this post as it goes live, I've timed it to release during the Autumn full moon period, otherwise known as the time of the HARVEST MOON. The moon will rise early, linger into the next morning, and appear even larger than usual. Good news is that this will appear to be so for several days, so that even if skies are overcast, anyone can likely find a time to step outside and just gaze. Gaze long. Gaze longingly. And wonder. 

     

Biography, Mentor Text, STEM: THE FIRE OF STARS

Chronicle Books, 2023

I've admired and learned from blogs posted by  author Kirsten W. Larson going all the way back to one earliest piece about creating curious kids. That was in 2012, near my own launch of this blog. Her most recent picture book, THE FIRE OF STARS: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of, is illustrated by Katherine Roy with enlightening brilliance in matching the text language with the  structure of the visual spreads and sidebar narrative.

One look at the cover hints at what I mean by the inspired art design and illustration. Loose-lined, fluid biographic art reveals moments in  astrophysicist Cecilia Payne's progression from curious child to groundbreaking investigator, astronomer, professor, and award-winner as one of the rare woman scientists of her time. Her discovery confirmed what, exactly, those sparkly dots in the night sky were made of. But the astronomical art is as precise and awe-inspiringly accurate as NASA slides! The two styles in combination offer a mirror to the parallel text approach using brilliant brief phrasing to describe the spawning/birth/maturity cycle of new stars on each page with simple and crisp narrative descriptions of Cecilia's path from childhood to her paradigm-changing discovery and beyond. You truly must read this fully to recognize how suitable the two visual and text narrative arcs reflect the processes of "coming of age" as stages in an elaborate process, not simplistic steps. This single spread interior page is just a whisper of many glorious examples throughout:

Chronicle Books, THE FIRE OF STARS, interior.

For centuries the assumption was that stars were made of the same materials as planets. The possibility that it could be something else was rarely even considered, except by Cecilia. She not only wondered and gathered data, she identified proofs for her radical theory within existing data that others had viewed for other purposes and without the imagination and flexible thinking of this curious, persistent woman.

Even if the question of how stars form is not a priority for you, I'm asking you to trust that the material in the hands of such a skilled writing and creative team will fascinate and inspire you. If you already are  a night-sky-wonderer, I'm certain you'll be "over the moon" about this one!  Please give this new picture book a look, and let's give Cecilia Payne the starry spotlight she deserves.