Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-6. Reusing many of the striking NASA photographs from his books on individual planets and the Sun, Simon takes readers on a quick tour of the Solar System. After several introductory pages placing the system within the galaxy and showing the order of the planets, he discusses the Sun, planets, moons, and comets and meteors. Dramatic, full-color photos offer stunning views of these objects. Occasionally, paintings and diagrams also illustrate points, such as the greenhouse effect on Venus and the asteroid belt. In a practical move, Simon supplies a great deal of planetary information (distance from the Sun, equatorial diameter, atmospheric gases, surface gravity, number of satellites and rings) on the endpapers, along with a picture showing the relative sizes of the planets and the Sun. One of those "must have" books for children's nonfiction collections, this will be useful as well as beautiful for years to come. Consider multiple copies. (Reviewed Oct. 15, 1992)0688099920Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-- Having worked his way through individual volumes on the Sun and its galactic companions, Simon now offers a brief overview of the solar system itself. The full-color photographs and illustrations are spectacular. Each of the planets gets several pages of coverage, with comets, meteors, and asteroids also receiving attention. This book serves best as an introduction to the single topic books since the information presented here is quite brief. The endpapers have a nicely organized chart of useful statistics such as diameter, rotation period, revolution period, etc., for each planet. Not sufficient in itself for most report needs, this title's eye-catching illustrations and understandable text should encourage young readers to look for further information. --Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The culmination of Simon's planets series is a fine, comprehensive work on the solar system. Similar to the others in format, the book brings together information on all nine planets, a good comparison chart, and the typically excellent color photographs. Beautifully designed; a pleasure to use. Ind. From HORN BOOK 1992, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
From the sun to Pluto, including all the planets, several moons, and even asteroids and meteors, in stunning photos and simulations from Magellan, Voyager, and other space probes, together with Simon's trademark prose, clear and concise. Handsome diagrams show relative sizes and vital statistics of the planets, pinpoint the solar system's location in our galaxy, and map the planets' orbits. It would be hard to imagine a better introduction to our little corner of the universe. Index. (Nonfiction. 5+)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
