The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara illus by Mark Fearing

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by Mark Fearing is a clever retelling of the Three Little Pigs.....I love stories that have been re-imagined especially when they are done well.   This is a great book to also introduce the planets to children....it isn't a "science" book as stated in the Author's note but the planets are depicted and in a realistic way.  This is the perfect way to also introduce fairy tales to your kids...read this and then go back and read the original.   I would have loved to read this at story time as a new book selection....the activities that can go with it are endless.   This is a fun new book....

Reference Sunday: 13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System

Growing up the only thing I remembered about the planets was the sentence we were taught to remember them.   It went something like this: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles ---Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.   Then a few years ago I remember feeling bad because "Pluto" was no longer considered a planet, which totally made my sentence obsolete.   In doing some research  for information about last night's "supermoon"  I came across this book from National Geographic about 13 Planets which intrigued me because I couldn't understand how we went from 8 planets to 13 in a short amount of time.   Luckily this book is a great way to explain to kids how this happened.

13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System by David A. Aguilar and published by National Geographic kids was just published this month.   It explains how Pluto came back into the planetary fold and how there are a few more just like it.   It groups the planets into different types and explains the history of their names and where they are located.   It also talks about the sun, astroid belts and the moons of each planet.   I found it really interesting and well written.   It doesn't talk down to a child (or a grown up who is science handicapped).  It is written for an older child ages 9-12 but I think younger kids can certainly learn from it too.   A great book to get ---- before the Astronomy community changes their mind again.