The Mysteries of the Universe: Discover the best-kept secrets of space (DK Children's Anthologies)

As an amateur astronomer and former preschool teacher, I've thought a lot about how to teach children (and adults) about astronomy. I taught a successful astronomy unit for preschool kids in three different years. And I have a presentation for talking to older age groups. This book is takes the exact same approach that I do when teaching children or the general public, emphasizing all the same astronomical objects (the most representative and the most exciting), in the same order, but this book is more complete. This book also avoids common mistakes seen in children's astronomy book, such as wasting time and space on Greek mythology while introducing the constellations (what's that got to do with science?), or presenting a "photograph" of the Milky Way Galaxy as seen from hundreds of thousands of light years above (no such photograph exists). There is a beautiful picture for each object in a logical order without skipping anything important, moving from the sun to Earth and Moon and asteroids, the other planets and moons (especially moons of Jupiter and Saturn), to the Kyper belt and comets, to the Ort Cloud, to star clusters and globular clusters and nebula, to the Milky Way Galaxy as a whole (for which there is no picture of the whole thing), to dwarf galaxies near the Milky Way, to the local group of galaxies, to the local supercluster of galaxies and "the cosmic web" and "the cosmic glow" (and other things in between.) To show people these objects in this order, I used to have a stack of books with little sticky notes on different pages, always fumbling through the many books and losing my pages when I needed them. I can literally throw away all those books. I bought two of these books. One is for my 5-year-old grandchild (but I will just wait for him to get interested and let him take the book), and the other is for ME! This is not just a children's book, though it is that. It is a book for all ages. The author understands both astronomy and the attention span of children. Each object or topic gets two short paragraphs of explanation beside a full page picture or on a two-page spread.

This is my son's first book about space. He loves the pictures and is able to easily understand it. I wish it had more pronunciation labels so that I wouldn't have to guess or look up how to say several of the space terms. Overall it's worth it.

Beautiful book for a science-loving child. The illustrations are gorgeous, the gold leaf on the pages is so nice, there are so many things to learn about, and I cannot believe this book was the price it was!

This honestly is the coolest book ever. The pictures are so beautiful and really good quality. Everything is super up to date and the words are awesome! I love how they are not too complicated but also still provide a lot of detail. We’ve already bought more to share!

Wow, this book is like a first-class ticket to the stars for kids aged 6-8! Each page unveils stunning photography and illustrations that make the universe's wonders come alive. From planets to black holes, it's packed with engaging, storybook-style descriptions that simplify complex cosmic concepts. I found myself more excited than my little one, eagerly flipping through the pages. However, at 224 pages, it's quite hefty—​consider it a mini workout lifting it! Overall, it's a stellar addition to any young reader's collection.

The cover is thick soft and high quality. The pages are also thick with gold edging. A heavier book. The book was so pretty and is a book you see yourself passing on to another generation, so i ended up ordering the rest of them. The information inside was done with careful style. These are books you can’t wait to shelf out in the open or have on a coffee table to simply impress. My LO and i sit together flipping through and learning. Id give this a higher rating if possible. If you want to appear as though you spent money without saying it, this is one of those gifts. And dont hesitate on buying the others you’ll end up doing it anyway, believe me.

Great quality and pictures

This is such a beautiful book about the universe. My 9-yr-old daughter is captivated and loves it. My only complaint is that it arrived looking like a previously owned book with the cover worn out on all sides and edges.