I checked this book for possible review primarily with my teenage grandson, Joshua, in mind. He has an engineer father, but is brilliant in his own right. He loves to learn about and discuss how things work. He is enthralled with detail down to the most intricate level. He builds things. He invents things. With proper self-discipline and a willingness to accept guidance and direction, there is nothing he will not be able to accomplish. So, upon receipt of this book, Bizarre Space: A Kid's Guide to Our Strange, Unusual Universe by Jenn Dlugos, I gave it to Josh and asked him to let me know what he thought of it. Here are his comments: It is a good book; it has a lot of information in it and a lot of detail. There were a lot of things he had not known about space and the universe that interested him. It is not the kind of book you would read cover to cover in one sitting. When I asked if it could function as a reference book in a library, he said yes without hesitation. So you now have the opinion of a bright, teenage boy. ( )

"Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mind-boggingly big it is."

Douglas Adams

It was encouraging that this ER book, Bizarre Space A Kid's Guide, begins with a Douglas Adams quote. The two authors of Bizarre Space met doing stand-up comedy, and one works by day writing science textbooks, while the other is a data "slinger" for a cancer research organization. They impart a lot of fascinating information about our universe in a slim volume, and go out of their way to make it entertaining, with puns and analogies and silly comments. That can mean groaners like the Clash reference "Rock the Plasma! Rock the Plasma!", but serves to lighten up what could have been dense content.

Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars other than our sun, where scientists hope to find signs of life. Here's what the authors say about the discovery process (about 1000 have been confirmed so far):

"Why does finding a new exoplanet make scientists squeal and somersault over the telescopes? (Aside from the fact that some scientists are just squealy and somersautly in general. We don't let those scientists near the really expensive telescopes)."

They go on to explain that, for one thing, exoplanets are hard to find because, unlike stars, they don't give off their own light.

Some other nuggets:

"Not only is Mercury's year shorter than an Earth year, but a Mercurial year is also shorter than a Mercurial day! Mercury circles the sun every 88 Earth days but makes a full rotation around its axis (a Mercurial day) only every 176 Earth days. So a day on Mercury lasts 2 Mercurial years. And we thought Monday afternoons dragged on!"

Mars' moon Phoebos orbits only 3700 miles from Mars' surface; "that's about the distance from Washington, DC to London, England" and it's getting closer all the time. The word galaxy comes from the Greek word galactos, meaning milk, and the milky appearance of the Milky Way led to its ancient name, with one godly explanation being that Hera was trying to nurse Heracles but he was too strong and her milk spilled.

Gravitational effects have disclosed dark matter we can't see, and in fact only 5% of the universe is made up by observable matter. There are a lot of mysteries out there. "Special note: Despite astronomers' hobby of putting the word dark in front of things they can't observe, this does not work for everything. You can't get out of your math homework by telling your teacher it is 'dark algebra'."

You won't want to give this book to your relative who believes the Earth is flat. But for kids 9-12 (its target audience) and older ones like me curious about the universe, it's a fun way to learn. There are lots of photos and illustrations, and colorful formatting with the information bite-size. ( )

My science loving kids enjoy this one. We find it to be a great read for when you can’t sleep and want to explore the mysteries of the universe. The sections are well chunked and sized for an early elementary reader and we appreciate the quality illustrations. This would also be a good addition to a school or classroom library.

I was so excited to receive and begin reading this book, rightfully so! Each section is in full color with pictures and illustrations that makes it more appealing to read, especially for young science buffs. The topics are laid out in an informative yet witty way, making it fun to read. This is the type of book I wish I had when I was young, it's not boring even though it's packed with interesting trivia and info about planets, comets, asteroids, stars and everything that encompasses our amazing universe. Mind you, the book isn't detailed but gives adequate into for further exploration by science buffs, young and old alike. Nevertheless, I gained so many new insights after reading this book.

Thank you to LibraryThing and Prufrock Press for sending me a copy of this book. ( )

This is a really well put together book.
It does not disappoint. My son started studying space right about the time I got the book in the mail and he has been thumbing through it ever since. Great colorful pages with witty humor to keep the facts from just being stale. This is a good book. Rec to anyone who has a little one in their life who is currently obsessed with space. They will enjoy. ( )