Blast Off!: A Space Counting Book

by Norma Cole, Marshall H. Peck III (Illustrator)

Have you ever wished you were an astronaut? Blast off on a counting adventure in outer space! You'll see a planet with more than sixteen moons, count stars up to a trillion, and discover how our sun was made. This counting book is for those who dare to count where no one has gone before. BLAST OFF! combines informative text with numbers ranging from 0 to 20 to one trillion! As they count, young readers experience the life of an astronaut and visit each planet in our solar system. The remarkably detailed and realistic illustrations transport us into space for an amazing voyage.

Genres: Space, Counting, Mathematics

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1994

About the author

Norma Cole is a poet, painter, and translator. Her most recent books of poetry include Fate News, Actualities, Where Shadows Will, and Win These Posters and Other Unrelated Prizes Inside. Her translations from French include Danielle Collobert’s It Then, the anthology Crosscut Universe: Writing on Writing from France, and Jean Daive’s White Decimal. Cole lives and works in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Random Scholar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated counting book about outer space. Some of the information is a little dated (like the part where it was mentioned that we hadn't traveled to any other planet except for the moon). I also wonder what age this would be best for. While counting books are ideal for students in Pre-K and Kindergarten, a lot of the text in this book used more advanced words like "air pressure" to describe procedures and equipment used in space travel. Students who are typically old enough to understand these words would not be reading them in the context of a counting book. I am still scratching my head trying to decide what age this book would be best for after all...

[Hannah O'Hearn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book takes the reader through a journey in space from what to wear in space to the planets and the stars. I personley didn't enjoy this book very much, but I'm not very interested in space. I could see this being a good choice for a student who is interested in that. I would possible use this for a non-fiction lesson, but I would probably try to find a better book. However, I would put this book in my library.

[Latifah Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for a Kindergarten classroom as they discuss counting. This will really engage your future astronauts. It has a lot of history about space and space travel as well.

[Mallory White · Rating 3 out of 5]

For your students that are interested in space and history this book is a must read ! It is also great to teach counting to your pre k and kindergarten students !

[Thomas]

This book really is fun for all ages

[Kristen Phillips]

"Blast Off!: A Space Counting Book" by Norma Cole is a nonfiction picture book. It is such a great educational book, as well. It counts to 20, then counts backwards from 10. As the children count, they learn the life of an astronaut, visit each plant, and learn so many interesting facts about space. Facts such as, Jupiter having 16 moons, Neptune being a very cold planet, and stars being made up of hydrogen gas.
This book is great for middle elementary children to read. It would also be great to read to the class if you are learning about space in Science. There is so much to learn from this small picture book!