Books by genre
Top 12 books about space for kids
Space is the topic where picture books can show things photographs cannot. This list includes true Apollo stories, the planets, night-sky guides and stories of the people who flew. Because science moves fast, check the publication date on solar-system facts.
Titles were chosen from award winners, ALSC notable lists and long-running library favorites, then each title and author was checked against Open Library in Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
There's No Place Like Space
Tish Rabe · Ages 4-8
A Cat in the Hat's Learning Library title that covers the planets in rhyme. Good for first readers.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
The Moon Book
Gail Gibbons · Ages 4-8
Phases, eclipses and moon landings with diagrams.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Our Solar System
Seymour Simon · Ages 6-10
Space photographs with plain text on every planet.
Watch for: Facts on dwarf planets and moons may need updating.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
A Black Hole Is Not a Hole
Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano · Ages 8-12
A clear explanation of black holes, illustrated with diagrams.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
Brian Floca · Ages 5-9
The Apollo 11 mission told in lyrical text and detailed paintings.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
One Giant Leap
Robert Burleigh · Ages 6-10
The moon landing as a moment-by-moment telling. Mike Wimmer's paintings.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Rocket to the Moon!
Don Brown · Ages 8-12
A graphic-novel history of the space race.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Mousetronaut
Mark Kelly · Ages 4-8
A mouse accidentally joins a space shuttle crew. Written by an astronaut.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
The Darkest Dark
Chris Hadfield · Ages 4-8
A boy afraid of the dark dreams of being an astronaut. Based on Chris Hadfield's childhood.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Mae Among the Stars
Roda Ahmed · Ages 4-8
A picture book about Mae Jemison as a child. Illustrated by Stasia Burrington.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky
Michael Driscoll and Meredith Hamilton · Ages 7-12
A guide to constellations, planets and sky events.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Starry Messenger
Peter SÃs · Ages 6-12
The life of Galileo, with detailed illustrations.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
More lists
Top 12 science fiction books for ages 9 to 12
Kid science fiction asks what if: what if the sun went out, if a robot learned to live, if a school bus fell into another world? These books are short enough for a third or fourth grader and sensible enough for an adult to read along.
Top 12 science and nature nonfiction books for kids
Great science books for kids let you open anywhere.
Top 12 picture-book biographies for ages 6 to 9
Picture-book biographies tell one person's story in a few pages and often one defining event.
Top 14 adventure books for kids ages 6 to 12
Adventure stories put a child in a hard place with a problem to solve: a wilderness, an island, a quest, a chase.
Top 12 fantasy books for ages 6 to 8
These are talking animals, magic doorways and small heroes, written plainly enough for new independent readers or good as a read-aloud.
Top 15 fantasy books for ages 9 to 12
The middle-grade years are the peak of fantasy reading.
Top 14 fantasy books for younger teens (ages 12 and up)
These are the bridge from children's fantasy to adult epic fantasy.
Top 11 fairy tale collections and retellings for kids
Fairy tales come in two kinds here: the old collections, and newer novels that retell or play with them.