Astronomy lit?

[SilverMoon]

Do you have some favorites to recommend?

 

This is for a rising 6th grade boy. Strong reader, but expects his fiction to have a really good story if he's going to put down his topical encyclopedias for it. He's currently reading Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury).

 

So far my whole list is three books long.

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (he really, really likes the movie)

War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells (Maybe First Men in the Moon too?)

Flying to the Moon - Collins

[ChrissySC]

Allow me to share my list that I am reading from ... http://www.astrosociety.org/education/astronomy-resource-guides/science-fiction-stories-with-good-astronomy-physics-a-topical-index/

 

Don't forget Contact, A Space Odyssey, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and the Black Hole (Yes, it was a book too.).   :)   You could just get the movies as well.  

[Lori D.]

Hmmm… Silver Moon: none of those titles in your post really have much to do with Astronomy. They are solid sci-fi works, though. :laugh: The only Astronomy reference I can remember out of War of the Worlds is that the protagonist looks through a telescope at Mars 2-3 times in the early chapters. And, it's worded about like that.  :tongue_smilie: Can't remember any Astronomy references in Ender's Game, but it's been awhile since I read it.

 

The ONLY fiction I can think of that has a bit more than a mention of Astronomy is the Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet (Cameron), and sequels -- but those are geared for gr. 4-6. Although, if your advanced-reading 6th grader doesn't mind the occasional younger book, he might like that series. The first 2 books -- WFthMP and Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet -- are still in print; the other 3 I only see as text files for download or online reading. (Mr. Bass' Planetoid; A Mystery for Mr. Bass; Time and Mr. Bass)

 

Here's a Scholastic List of Space and Astronomy books for ages 11-13. Most titles are non-fiction, are there also quite a few young titles (gr. 4-6 level), but some interesting ones in there, too.

 

This list of Science Fiction for Young Adults looks promising; do note that a number of these titles are for OLDER teens and should be previewed; also, quite a few are NOT about astronomy / space / sci-fi. 

 

I stumbled over Maurice on the Moon (and sequels) in a list, so no idea if it's any good or not, but it's fiction geared for middle school students written by a science teacher to introduce Astronomy and other Science topics and concepts. Here's the author's website.

 

Here's a cool list of fiction (BUT for ADULTS, so you would have to preview): Science Fiction Stories with Good Astronomy & Physics (arranged by topic). ETA: Hey! This is ChrissySC's list from above post!   :hurray: Thanks Chrissy!

 

For non-fiction, these books popped up on a lot of people's lists: Nightwatch (Dickinson), and, The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy (Evans)

 

 

For more "classic" sci-fi like War of the Worlds:

- Isaac Asimov's works I, Robot, and Caves of Steel

- Bradbury's R is for Rocket; S is for Space; and The Martian Chronicles

- Heinlein's Have Spacesuit Will Travel

- E.E. Doc Smith's Lensmen series

- Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series

 

And, more recent: Christopher's Tripod trilogy is a fun popcorn read after War of the Worlds (the tripods are the aliens from War of the Worlds, landing in modern times, and this time much more successfully enslaving the world's population). Andre Norton wrote a lot of YA sci-fi back in the 1970s-1980s.

 

 

And finally: Okay, this is TOTALLY NOT what you asked for, but I'm linking just 'cause it came up in a search and looks cool: Teach With Movies: Lesson Plans in Science & Tech from Movies and TV, listed by topic. Don't know if any of this helps, but there you go. I had fun finding all of those. ;) BEST of luck in finding Astronomy fiction! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[SilverMoon]

Hmmm… Silver Moon: none of those titles in your post really have much to do with Astronomy. They are solid sci-fi works, though. :laugh:

I know!! The only thing I have going for me is they take place in outer space or creatures from outer space visit. He was lamenting our lack of astronomy/outer space stories beyond Star Wars/Star Trek, and that list was the closest we could find on our shelves. :P

 

Thanks for the lists, ladies! I'll check them all out.

[clemota]

Wow - those are some great lists!

 

OP, I have this book (part of a series) on my wish list for DD11 - I have no idea how good or interesting the story is though.

 

She's read most of the Stephen Hawking series as well, though the first book slogs a bit at the beginning. 

 

I think the age range for both series is 9-12, so they may seem too childish.  They might be worth looking for at your local library though, to see if they hold any appeal for your son.

[8filltheheart]

Well, if he likes Fahrenheit 451, an obvious choice would be Martian Chronicles.

Lewis's Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength.).

[Farrar]

I know the Hawking series - George's Secret Key, etc. - is often recommended for slightly younger, but the second two books (especially the final one) are so science dense that I think they're really more suited to logic stage than grammar.  I mean, the science gets very detailed in the little manual parts that are between the story sections.

 

Seconding Contact, even though Sagan didn't see the end of the Cold War coming.  And reading old Heinlein and Asimov, though they're not really about astronomy for the most part.

 

The list that ChrissySC posted does look really awesome.  It took some great geek energy to compile that!

 

[mom31257]

Oh...following! We are going to embark on an astronomy study this summer! 

[RootAnn]

Just be careful with Heinlein as some of his books are distinctly erm ... non-mainstream.  :coolgleamA:  Pre-read!

 

I let my girls read Ender's Game & Ender's Shadow (awesome to read those two back-to-back, BTW!) but be forewarned that they have some heavy themes and I seem to remember a bit of 'language.' 

 

And, it has been awhile since I read it, but Back to the Moon by Travis Taylor was filled with science & tech stuff and interesting!

[Lori D.]

Just be careful with Heinlein as some of his books are distinctly erm ... non-mainstream.  :coolgleamA:  Pre-read!

 

Yes, that's why I only listed the one that I knew was safe. :)

 

Also, while I love Lewis' space trilogy, those books get steeper to read as you go; a strong reader who is handling Farenheit 451 well could probably manage Out of the Silent Planet (first book). But Perelandra (second book) is heavily theological. And That Hideous Strength (third book) definitely is for older teens/adults; it is set on Earth, not space, heavily references Arthurian mythology, and has some mature topics and portrayals of evil/temptation to evil). It would be a shame to rush into those without the background and "tools" to unpack and fully enjoy those books.

[Mom-ninja.]

Another vote for Hawking's series. My 13 yr old likes them.

[ErinE]

Subbing to hear more as I'm in the same situation.

 

Do you have some favorites to recommend?

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (he really, really likes the movie)

 

DS and I had a fantastic conversation about this book. It was one of our better discussions because it was so in-depth and wide-ranging. For me, it was such a great moment to see the maturity in my son's personality. I highly recommend you read it first then give it to your DS.

 

Also, Heinlein has some pretty adult themes, but The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my favorite sci-fi books.

[SilverMoon]

This DS will read younger fiction if it's a good story, but not stuff like Basher books. *shrug* These lists are great!

 

(Clearly we need to build our Bradbury collection. Somehow we barely have any...)

[8filltheheart]

I was thinking about this and I remembered a resource that I posted a couple of yrs ago. I thought it would be fun to use with a reluctant reader.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/281051-interesting-resource-to-engage-the-reluctant-reader/

 

I clicked on the link in that post....that is ridiculous. Here is a link to Amazon if you want anything more than titles

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0876289081/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

[Colleen in NS]

Allow me to share my list that I am reading from ... http://www.astrosociety.org/education/astronomy-resource-guides/science-fiction-stories-with-good-astronomy-physics-a-topical-index/

 

Don't forget Contact, A Space Odyssey, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and the Black Hole (Yes, it was a book too.).   :)   You could just get the movies as well.  

 

I just e-mailed your link to my son - he will love it!!  Thanks!