Explore Books and Stars Together

Help boost school-aged kids' reading skills by reading aloud to them and with them. Exploring books together is fun at any age. Stars are a great topic to investigate together because you can investigate what you learn in the nighttime sky. I've included some fun activities that will help you keep learning together after reading.

We are going to be learning about lots of space related things at the library this summer in to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Check out our summer reading and events and earn prizes!

To Read

Here are some of my favorite star related books.

You can read some traditional stories about constellations in Her Seven Brothers by Paul Goble or Starry Tales by Geraldine McCaughrean.

For a laugh, read The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk (because after all, the Sun is a star too).

For inspiration read Path to the Stars by Sylvia Acevedo. The author discusses how she went from being a Girl Scout who liked science to a rocket scientist!

Check out more on this booklist:

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To Do

Here are some great learning activities big people and little people can do together to have fun and keep learning:

Blackout poetry

PBS has a great Twinkle Twinkle Letter Stars activity where you make stars with the letters of the alphabet on them. Hang them up and see what constellations  or words you can make with them.

For a writing activity, try some blackout poetry. Using a page from a magazine or newspaper, select words to be in your poem. Circle them and then black out everything else on the page with a black marker. You will have a poem with words that look like white stars against a black background.

There are many more activities to make your own constellations. My favorites are using sidewalk chalk and rocks, or making your own viewer with a toilet paper tube, paper and a flashlight.

Many of these activities came from the stars and constellations reading and activity pack from Reading Rockets. It's definitely worth downloading for more books and activity suggestions – enough for an entire week!

Bonus Books for Grown-ups and Teens

Simple Stargazing by Anton Vamplew provides step by step instructions by a seasoned educator. He will help you see amazing things in the night sky - even with the naked eye.  This book is also available from us as an ebook on Overdrive.