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.

I bought this for my 3 1/2 yo grandson, who loves anything, universe, planets, galaxies, etc. he’s real smart. Anyway, he loves this book and is always asking everyone to read it to him or we go through pictures. It’s a great book and I highly recommend it.

This book was way more than I expected. The quality and craftsmanship and artistic details of the book and pages are amazing. Makes reading the details of each page exciting.

The most mesmerizing space book I've come across for young readers. My 4-year-old loves space; most of this book goes over his head, but he still loves the beautiful illustrations and the dramatic tone that makes every page seem like it's describing something magical. The binding is also beautiful—I didn't realize the book was so long, but it's by far his fanciest book. Highly recommend.

Love this DK bookset! It is so elegant and pretty! Must buy:)

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.

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.

Oh man. Who is the editor that let “astroners” sneak through on page 150 under Nebula. My kiddo and I got a kick out of it and moved on. This is a great book and we’ve both enjoyed the are and the info! Despite the typo, I do recommend the book!