If Pluto Was a Pea

by Gabrielle Prendergast, Rebecca Gerlings (Illustrator)

Join two curious kids as they explore their backyard, and contemplate their place within our vast universe in this adorable picture book that’s full of comparisons to help kids understand cosmic size.

If Pluto was a pea…
the Sun would be like a tent,
Mercury would be a marble,
and Earth would be a golf ball.

Pluto is the smallest planet in our solar system, but how small is small? As it turns out, it only takes the contents of a lunchbox and a backyard to find out.

Genres: Picture Books, Space, Science, Nonfiction, Childrens, Planets, Mathematics

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 2019

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

All right, kids. Repeat after me:

If Pluto were a pea.
If Pluto were a pea.
If Pluto were a pea.

Got it? Good.

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the book itself. The premise is actually kind of neat. It's all about comparative sizes. If Pluto were the size of a pea, then the Earth would be the size of a golf ball, Mars would be the size of an acorn, Jupiter would be the size of a beach ball, etc. This is all framed by two kids and their camping trip; each of the objects mentioned is encountered and pictured, along with measurements.

I like the idea. I sort of like the illustrations. But I just can't get past that grammar. It's on pretty much every spread of the book, teaching a new generation of children to avoid the subjunctive verb tense. Pluto can never literally be a pea... and so the correct word here should be "were". If the text simply changed that one word, then this is one book I could wholeheartedly recommend.

[mj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books like this because I have literally no concept of something that large and it makes it easier for my dumb monkey brain to comprehend.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comparing planet sizes to ordinary items.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered how big the sun would be if Pluto were the size of a pea? Or if Earth were the size of a golf ball?

Join these two curious kids as they ponder the skies and the planets while camping in their back yard.
This fascinating introduction to scale will help kids better understand the difference in sizes between the planets in our solar system.

Includes measurements in both Metric and Imperial style and end pages that show the planets lined up in order, from marble-sized Mercury to pea-sized Pluto, with Earth's and Pluto's even smaller moons shown as well!

This review was originally shared on Lazy Day Literature

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and functional approach to scaling down the sizes of planets (and moons) to make the enomity of space and planets more manageable for your learners by rendering them in relative size/proportion. The realistic scene (camping out under a night sky) had the added benefit of a portraying diverse characters. Even so, I longed for some relatively simple back matter that explained how very large numbers can be reduced to manageable scale while retaining the correct proportions. This can be useful in interpreting maps, populations, etc. and is a very useful skill. Seemed like a missed opportunity, but the book could launch an extended discussion of how we know this is reliable info and how we can work to verify the statements with a few simple math skills.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how simple and relatable they kept this, with appealing illustrations and fantastic endpapers. It reads aloud well and would be great for a space story time. However, a little back matter with the actual sizes of the planets, something about how far apart they are, and how to pronounce the names of Pluto's moons would have been super helpful. Highly recommended for ages 4-7.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate how this book translates our solar system into common everyday objects. It provides readers with a way to relate to the immensity of the planets and our sun. I like the diversity represented in the two children camping out in a backyard.
This would make a fabulous addition to a collection of books about space for elementary aged readers.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this one up at my local library because I have a student who loves Among Us, and I thought I would try to lure him in with a book about space. He's a tough sell on books, but he absolutely loved this one, and read it non-stop for two days! This is a wonderfully cute and fun look at the galaxy around us and just how big we are in it. I highly recommend!

[Brigid Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives examples of the size of all the planets and some moons relative to Pluto (if it was the size of a pea).

Covers size comparisons and the names of planets. If would be very easy to turn into an activity if you got all the different items each planet is compared to (for storytime, homeschooling, etc.) like a beachball, a pumpkin, etc.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The children's book market is so saturated with books about the solar system and planets that it's hard to write one that is a "standout". This book felt very typical to me without much to get excited about.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice to show relative size.

Pretty sure that the tent for the sun wasn't 4 meters in diameter.

Like how they went up from Pluto's pea for the sun and planets and then smaller than the pea for Pluto's moons and people.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good use of comparisons for understanding the sizes of planetary bodies.

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome way to make a comparison to show young students the sizes planted in the solar system. It starts out with the Dwarf Planet Pluto as the size of a pea.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder if the idea came because a kid did a science project with a scale similar to the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could help anyone (kids and adults!) understand the size of the planets.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - interesting

[Jennifer]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...#

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Leah Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good simple story to bring planets and other huge distant object down to an understandable pea scale.

[Amy]

Cute concept - was a little confusing for my students.

[Y.Poston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this exploration of relative size of planets!
So relatable.

[Lara Bate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to put the sizes of planets in perspective.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative way to show the size of our planets!

[Jaden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that it had lots of numbers and mathematics in it

[Miss Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Pluto the dwarf planet was the size of a pea, how big would other things in space be? This book breaks it down for us and goes through our solar system.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received an F&G of this book from the publisher at ALA Annual 2019.