Professor Astro Cat’s Stargazing, exceptional early astronomy on any level

Professor Astro Cat is the bestselling book series that aims, and wildly succeeds, in explaining potentially complex issues that kids are curious about. The combination of beautifully simple art by Ben Newman and just detailed enough explanations by Dr. Dominic Walliman add up to an entry level education that kids will want to read. Professor Astro Cat’s Stargazing continues the excellence that their previous books have laid out, but this time takes young readers to the stars.

Thus, the title-Stargazing. Yeah, it sounds obvious, but when you look at their previous books, you older readers might think, “haven’t they already done the stars?”. No, they’ve written kid-friendly books on planets, our solar system, physics and more, but not one on stars, until now. There is, as the book quickly illustrates, a difference between stars and the rest of the bodies that are moving around in space.

We meet Professor Astro Cat, Felicity and Astro Mouse as they start their journey into space. First they have to get there and while adults know the term, the speed of light, we’re re-introduced to it and still learn something. Light speed is the speed at which light travels. For us, the most popular pop culture illustration of that is to watch a kid turn on the light and then try to reach the area before it illuminates.  Spoiler alert: they will always be slower unless your light switch is broken.

The trio manages to introduce the concept behind the speed of light in a way that kids will understand it. Moreover, they illustrate it in a manner that makes adults think of it in a different light and ends the two-page spread with a mind bending thought that makes kids and adults wonder about the possibility of time travel.  Recap: yes, Stargazing IS a book that’s intended for children.

Sure you know that the Sun is a star, but how are stars formed? What are the different types of stars and what happens when a star ends? Stargazing ends by doing the most science-like thing possible, it makes you curious about a subject that you might want to learn more about.

It accomplishes this by the brevity in its text and it’s timeless, retro art work. Timeless does not mean ‘dated’. There is something about Newman’s artwork that feels as at home in 2019 as it would’ve in 1968. Today’s kids won’t think that this is their father’s or grandfather’s book either. Walliman’s text speaks to them directly, without talking down to them or thinking that they don’t know something. If anything, it was me that realized that I didn’t know much about stars after reading Professor Astro Cat’s Stargazing. It’s also worth nothing Walliman’s work online. It’s a bit more complex then this book, but might provide nice brain fodder for older students looking for a deeper, yet approachable, dive into Quantum Device Physics.

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