Our Moon: New Discoveries About Earth's Closest Companion – A Nonfiction Science Book for Kids About Formation and Colonies

by Elaine Scott

Since the dawn of human existence, people have gazed up at the night sky and wondered about the moon. Here the veteran nonfiction author Elaine Scott skillfully presents a wealth of captivating, kid-friendly information, covering everything from the newest theories on how the moon formed, to the recent, startling discovery of water on its surface and the very real possibility of future moon colonies. Illustrated with stunning, full-color photographs and packed with fun facts, this is the most complete and up-to-date book available on the moon and should find a home on every curious child’s bookshelf. Includes glossary, bibliography, and index.

Genres: Science, Space, Nonfiction, Childrens, Picture Books, Middle Grade

72 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2016

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars I learned a lot from the book but I wouldn't say it is an award winner. I found a lot of things really interesting and some new facts.

What I didn't like is the format. You have side bar, pictures and pictures between pages. I don't have ADHD. I want the sentence to finish on the page. Then I can look at the pictures and side bars and notes and picture captions. This book pages ends mid sentence to the next page and you have to finish the sentence and go back to the last page and read the side bars. Or you are mid sentence and instead of continuing there is a full page insert page.

All good information for kids who are more likely to flip through and look at the side bars, but for me It felt unsettling. I don't multi task well. I want to finish the sentence, then read the side bars not go back and forth. I get the reasoning but I don't think it is effective and I don't like it!!

[Christina Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this informative non-fiction, Elaine gives many chapters of information known to date of the discoveries made by astronomers about the moon and earth's components. This book seems to be intended for children in grades 6 and up, while discussing complex theories about the moon. The book digs into the background of the Earth and how things have changed over the centuries. It even digs into the invention of the telescope and why it was needed for the advancement of the scientists and their discoveries. There are many pictures and illustrations featured inside of the book with captions that let us know what is going on and describes it simply for a younger crowd to understand.

[Monical · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is aimed at an advanced YA audience, so I shouldn't be so surprised at the "dumbed down" content. I was expecting more "new" in the "new discoveries" and instead got a mash up of old stuff, presented in a mashed up incoherent fashion. I thought a few facts (like our moon is so much bigger than other moons in our solar system, so some astronomers think our earth-moon combo should be considered a dual planet) were missing or glossed over. I also think the book suffered in an e-book format, since it had a lot of diagrams and pictures that didn't translate well in that format; might be better in the actual book.

[Theresa Worona · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first thing that caught my attention was the pictures used in this book. they were absolutely breath taking to look at and know that these are the things that are in the sky above us at all times. it made me want to read the excerpts more than the actual text because they were shorter and got the point a lot faster than the actual text. i found the book to be long and very factual, which is not always a bad thing, but for this case, it almost felt too long. there were things in my opinion that couldve been taken out to make it an easier read but it was interesting nonetheless.

[Sierra Fresh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our Moon is full of good information about the moon and many of the things that have to do with it. The photographs within the book are beautiful and give different views of the moon. The text is broken up into 5 chapters, and it is very heavily worded. This book could be good for a more advanced reader who is interested in this topic.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fourth grade son read this book in conjunction with his Science class, and was able to learn and understand quite a bit about the moon. The text is straight-forward, and the illustrations are excellent.

[Casandria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous, but very dense

[Lorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What we know about the moon began with observations made by ancient philosophers and continues to this day. Our understanding is constantly changing as our insight and technology continues to get more sophisticated. By detailing recent important discoveries we now know the moon may not be the dry, dusty place we once thought it was and human colonization may not be only a dream, but a reality.

While this comprehensive history of moon exploration was written for a middle school audience, it will both inform and astound readers of all ages. The narrative style text compels the reader to keep going by making this read like a good fictional story. Large photographs and illustrations make the reading very much a visual experience as well so turning the pages is a delight for those who are visual learners. Extras include a table of contents, glossary, books and websites for further reading, and an index which puts the aforementioned photo pages in bold for easy finding. I would highly recommend this book for school and public libraries.

This book was provided by the publishers for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott, E. (2015). Our moon: New discoveries about Earth’s closest companion. New York, NY: Clarion Books.
This book would be useful for a 4th grade science unit on Space, which is taught each year at Lincoln Public Schools. It details many different aspects of the Moon and would make a good resource for a classroom set to be made available to students during the unit. Students would enjoy browsing the information and photos alone or with a partner. It would also make a good resource if students were conducting research about a space-related topic and selected the Moon.
I selected this book over other books about space because it had beautiful photos and other engaging text features that students would enjoy looking at. It also had helpful resources such as a long glossary and a “further reading” list of related books.

[Clare Rossetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written newer book (2015 copyright) to add to shelves talking about the moon. There are five chapters, a glossary, and index and a list of more books and websites students can go to to get more information. The moon has always fascinated man and the more we learn about our nearest celestial neighbor the more our curiosity grows. The books contains some great photographs and facts to engage the reader. The glossary defines words that are critical for our understanding of the moon. The index is particularly useful-I found myself picking out a word and then going back and reading about it. To pull the reader in the introduction tells of a communication between Mike Collins in 1969 while he was in space about a legend from China that says there was a princess or big rabbit on the moon. This is followed by some other legends as it starts the narrative of our neighbor the moon.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The search for a detailed informational book all about the moon is officially over! This book contains almost every piece of information that a student would need to complete a project regarding the moon. In addition to the plethora of lunar information this book provides, this book is also organized very well; with easy to read and understand text and images to reinforce the information being given.

[Kifflie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elaine Scott has written an excellent book about what we currently know about the Moon. She explains difficult scientific concepts in a way that is easy to understand. There are some excellent photographs and illustrations included as well. Highly recommended to young readers, or even for adults who want a quick overview of the subject.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful full-color photographs, illustrations, and charts complement the comprehensive text. Great research addition, but personally I enjoyed just browsing it rather than reading it straight through.
Also includes a glossary, index, and a fairly extensive list of books and websites for further research and reading.

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to forget how miraculous it was that mankind made it to the moon. This book gives the reader an in depth exploration of the moon missions and the astronauts involved.

I learned a lot in this book including how they transported moon rocks back to earth. This book is also filled with fantastic images.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect science nonfiction book for 4th and 5th graders. Engaging and interesting with lots of stunning photography and fun facts to keep the reader moving. Did a nice job of explaining complex scientific theories and processes to a young audience without dumbing it down beyond recognition.

[Laura Salas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about the moon with all sorts of terrific stories woven in about how various discoveries have been made. I especially love the emphasis on how science in general works: We might think we know something right now, but then when we make new discoveries, we adjust our understanding.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Updated and very informative about the history and current study of earth's moon. Includes glossary, index, and further reading sections.

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about the moon and some of the results of exploration. Probably a middle grades book, but still informative and interesting.