Pluto!: Not a Planet? Not a Problem!

Our Universe #7

by Stacy McAnulty, Stevie Lewis (Illustrator)

Hot diggity dog! Meet Pluto! The runt of a litter of eight planets. Pluto may not be the biggest or fastest planet to revolve around the Sun, but it has a unique story to tell. From the tale of how it was found by humans to its naming as a dwarf planet, it’s Pluto’s turn to take the spotlight and properly re-introduce itself.

With characteristic humor and charm, Stacy McAnulty channels the voice of Pluto in this next celestial "autobiography" in the Our Universe series. Rich with kid-friendly facts and beautifully brought to life by Stevie Lewis, this is an equally charming and irresistible companion to Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years and Sun! One in a Billion .

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Science, Space, Childrens, Stem, History

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2023

About the author

Stacy McAnulty is a children’s book author, who used to be a mechanical engineer, who’s also qualified to be a paleontologist (NOT REALLY), a correspondent for The Daily Show (why not), and a Green Bay Packer coach (totally!). She is the 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor Recipient for Excellent Ed, illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Her other picture books include Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, illustrated by David Litchfield; Brave and Beautiful, both illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff; Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite, illustrated by Edward Hemingway; and 101 Reasons Why I’m Not Taking a Bath, illustrated by Joy Ang. She’s also authored the chapter book series Goldie Blox, based on the award-winning toys, and The Dino Files. Her debut middle grade novel, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, will publish in 2018. When not writing, Stacy likes to listen to NPR, bake triple-chocolate cupcakes, and eat triple-chocolate cupcakes. Originally from upstate NY, she now lives in Kernersville, NC with her 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 husband.

Reviews

[Samantha Ania · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to love this series. I think this one was written partially for us adults who got in their feels over Pluto losing planet status (me).

[Patricia Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love learning through children's books.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Determined to read all the books in the series to my son! Pluto was my favorite planet, it was the 9th and I did a project on it in the 4th grade. I was really sad when it became a dwarf planet. This book is really cute and we learned a lot. I love the interactiveness and the illustrations. Overall, rating it 4/5 stars ⭐️

[Marta Rodrigues · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encantador!

[Meghan Bohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today I learned there's a heart on Pluto.

[Bethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Adorable Pluto, runt of the planet family with his heart shaped “birthmark” explains how he feels like he doesn’t fit in with his planet family, thereby forgiving his demotion in 2006. Details for the dwarf planet status explained in the back matter, along with resources, Pluto by the numbers, and a comparison with Earth, the only planet with ice cream and books! It’s 107 degrees today in Texas, wouldn’t mind a quick visit to cold Pluto! Love this series!

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember sitting in my kndergarten classroom (circa 2006) and during the loudspeaker morning announcements and after they announced that Pluto was now a dwarf planet instead of a "real" planet as the "fun science fact" of the day I cried. I was so upset. I'm not sure why it hit me so hard, I just remember sitting there crying over poor Pluto. This book made me feel happy for Pluto because he seems to like being a dwarf planet. ANYWAYS, this book is super cute and full of fun planet facts!

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d like to give this another star, but I can’t. The presentation is that Pluto was demoted. That narrative needs to end. Pluto was demoted, it was reclassified in order to reflect what it actually is. Pluto was NEVER a planet, we were WRONG to call it that from the beginning.

[Kimberly Konecny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, yet factual book explaining why Pluto is not considered a planet. Additional facts comparing Earth & Pluto at the end of the book.

[Alonsonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and informative.

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

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I am obsessed with this gorgeous books!!! I will be saving these for the kids!

[Aly | Thealylifestyle ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ ⏦ﾟ♡︎ ⋆ 𐙚 ̊. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I absolutely loved this story! The illustrations are adorable and it has a really well written story of not only Pluto but the other planets as well. It’s hard not to love Pluto when it looks that cute.

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

For once, I didn't finish a picture book about Pluto being cast away in tears.

[A Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My favorite part of this book is how the illustrator included Tombaugh Regio whenever drawing Pluto as well as when McAnulty tells readers about Pluto's heart. At the start of the book, Pluto tells readers to think of them as a "lovable family pet" instead of "a boring ole planet" and on this page, Pluto is wearing a headband with dog ears, which is pretty cute. Pluto goes on to say that they love the other planets. "We were all b0rn more than 4.5 billion years ago. We're basically from the same litter." Pluto calls themself a "runt" and explains that they are smaller than Earth's moon. I liked that the book tells readers the diameter of Mercury and Earth's moon in comparison to Pluto's diameter. McAnulty also explains that Pluto and Charon orbit each other and calls them playmates. Later in the book, McAnulty tells readers that some of the planets can be seen without a telescope; "Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can be seen with the naked eye. That means an eye without a telescope- and an eye without underwear." McAnulty tells readers that Pluto was discovered February 18, 1930; "I was no longer a stray" it says, along with an illustration of Pluto wearing the headband with dog ears on it again and holding a bone-shaped tag that says "if found" on it. "Talk about puppy love. Earthlings adored me!" Readers are told that an eleven-year-old girl from England suggested the name Pluto. "I was doggone excited to be added to the family portrait." The book explains how scientists learned more about Pluto and decided after 76 years that Pluto was significantly different from the other planets. McAnulty tells readers the criteria for a planet and explains that Pluto is not a planet because they don't "clear the neighborhood" which is explained as "I'm too friendly and don't mind sharing my space." I like this book more than most of the other books in the series, but less than "Moon! Earth's Best Friend" by the same author.

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it when a book makes learning fun. I also think this series is just amazing. Stacy has given space fans a true gift. I learned so much reading this.

I didn't realize that Pluto and it's moon sort of dance around together. It's moon doesn't orbit Pluto. That's so nice, a forever spinning dance through space. Pluto should be the planet of love.

Yes, I still think of Pluto as a planet Dwarf planet - no way. Sorry, I won't change my mind on it, but Stacey makes a great case that it's okay.

Another thing I learned is that orbits vary. I never thought of that. I assumed they would spin the same rate. It takes Pluto 6.5 Earth days to spin one rotation. Really. It's still faster than mars which takes 59 Earth days. That's crazy. Living there would be difficult as far as how one breaks up the time.

Pluto is so cute in this book. Such a great series I love the artwork. Pluto has a heart shaped spot on it called Tombaugh Regio. It has a heart on the surface of the planet that is all ice. I'm tell you, Pluto is the planet for lovers. Jupiter has that spot, I'll take the heart shape.

Also, Pluto wasn't found by humans until 1930. News to me. I thought we knew about it sooner. The one criteria it doesn't do is clear the neighborhood which means clear out debris from it's orbit, which is why they call it a Dwarf planet. Boo, so what. It's our 9th planet. Anyway. I'm going to read the rest of the books in this series. I love it.

[JG (Introverted Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read and loved Beautiful , another one of Stacy McAnulty's picture books, so when I was wandering through the children's section of the library looking for a handful of picture books that were on my TBR, her works caught my eye. My husband and I are in Arizona for a few months this winter and we visited the Lowell Observatory recently, which is where Pluto was first discovered. This was the book that made it into my check-out pile.

If you're maybe a tad... unreasonable... about Pluto's status as a demoted planet (as I am), this is the book for you.

Pluto's happy to be called a dwarf planet and share the designation with a handful of others. With adorable illustrations from Stevie Lewis (whose work I'm also familiar with from Fatima's Great Outdoors ), the book shares interesting facts about Pluto in a fun and kid-friendly way. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I learned a lot myself.

This is a cute book for young astronomers and I'll be checking out the others in the series.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more bookish opinions, visit my blog: Craft-Cycle

Told with humor and engaging artwork, this adorable nonfiction picture book lets Pluto tell his story. He talks about his place in the solar system, his planetary family, his features, and the history of his discovery and reclassification. Such a fun book.

The illustrations are so cute and help the reader visualize the information presented. I especially loved the spread of how many steps (equal to astronomical units) it would take to reach Pluto. A nice representation of how far away different objects in the universe are.

At the back is more information about Pluto including a note from the author about scientific discoveries and debates, a quiz comparing Pluto and Earth, stats about Pluto, and a deeper dive into Pluto's reclassification and the difference between a planet and a dwarf planet.

Humorous, informative, and fun with wonderful illustrations. Also, I love that Pluto got his own author bio at the end. Such a great read.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part of a series but this book can stand on its own…just like the dwarf planet itself. It took a long while for Pluto to be discovered. Being the farthest from the sun, it was rather hard to see. But seen it was! It got a name, it got recognition. Then it got demoted from planet to dwarf planet.

In this book, Pluto is given a personality. Playful, friendly and happy to share its skies and orbits with others, we have the image of a small sibling who doesn’t mind being the runt of the litter. The book is colorful, plays to children’s curiosity and may be of comfort to the littlest child in a large family. The message is plain: You may be overlooked sometimes but you’re still special.

[Chantal HK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un petit documentaire broché vraiment bien conçu. On y présente Pluton, la planète naine, en la personnifiant de manière absolument attachante, sans toutefois négliger le niveau d'informations. Une formule carrément géniale pour intéresser les jeunes et leur fournir moultes données sans pour autant les assommer. Un niveau de vulgarisation impressionnant, un ton enjoué, des images captivantes, bravo!
Mention aux deux dernières pages qui récapitulent avec plus de sérieux les informations contenues dans le livre en en étayant certaines avec un peu plus de détails.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having grown up in one of the last generations that was taught that Pluto was a planet, it still hard to remember that we have only eight planets in our solar system, not nine. This book does a good job of teaching young readers about our history with the dwarf planet Pluto. As a Christian, I do not believe in the evolutionary time period that is described in this book, but the rest of the science is good. I do appreciate that in the author's note at the end, Ms. McAnulty states that this is the most current information, but things can change as we discover more about the universe.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful addition to the Our Universe series! I shared this one with my favorite five year old - who has a current fascination with all things outer space - and she loved it! She knows enough about space that she was adding in facts as we went along about the other planets. And we liked that the illustrator gave our favorite dwarf planet dog ears!
This book should add a few factoids of information to your current knowledge of Pluto and all things outer-spacey!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

McAnulty continues her space series with this informative book about Pluto. Readers learn about its discovery and the years of study to determine it is a dwarf planet. I appreciate her style of personification so Pluto itself tells its story. This works well for elementary level readers. The illustrations are bright, warm and colorful.

[Gregory Melahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audiobook version is just great. I got it for my grandson who loves all things science.

I myself learned lots of interesting stuff about Pluto including the fact that its name came from the suggestion of an 11 year old girl from Oxford.

Good explanation of how Pluto lost its planet status and from the sound of it Pluto is coping quite well.

[Grace Russell]

This book is part of a collection of books about our universe. It tells the story of Pluto and its journey from being discovered and claimed to be a planet, then actually found as a Dwarf planet. It is a children’s book that makes learning science fun and entertaining. I learned a lot while reading, and so will children.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love McAnulty's series of planetary books! They are all so charming. This one didn't make me laugh quite as much as some of the others, but it was just as cute, and I did learn some things. I feel like I should have known this already, but I did not know that we now have four dwarf planets (including Pluto).

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (I really liked it)

This was a great explanation of Pluto's history! Some parts seemed a little bit too dry (like fact after fact) but overall it was super fun. I love all the references to Pluto being a dog.

[Kelly]

This book is really cute, and I'm so glad the illustrator included the heart region in the illustrations. Also, making the planet look like a dog is really cute, too. I thought it had good enough facts and explained as best it could why it's not a planet.

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

Children's Nonfiction Picture Books

The My Universe series is fantastic! We have loved them all!

In Pluto! Not a Planet? Not a Problem!, Pluto, personified, shares that he is absolutely okay with not being considered a planet anymore. He's just happy to be part of the family!

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

52 book club challenge 2026 - author's bio mentions their dog; written without quotation marks; has a dust jacket; spans a decade or more
Pop sugar reading challenge 2026 - a book in a different format than my usual: physical, audio, ebook (children's picture book)

Fun book! So upbeat!

[Amanda Zirn Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a 90's child I took Pluto's updated non-planet status personally. This book makes me feel better... plus there are a ton of sweet Pluto facts!