Charlie Hatton

"Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mind-boggingly big it is."

Douglas Adams

It was encouraging that this ER book, Bizarre Space A Kid's Guide, begins with a Douglas Adams quote. The two authors of Bizarre Space met doing stand-up comedy, and one works by day writing science textbooks, while the other is a data "slinger" for a cancer research organization. They impart a lot of fascinating information about our universe in a slim volume, and go out of their way show more to make it entertaining, with puns and analogies and silly comments. That can mean groaners like the Clash reference "Rock the Plasma! Rock the Plasma!", but serves to lighten up what could have been dense content.

Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars other than our sun, where scientists hope to find signs of life. Here's what the authors say about the discovery process (about 1000 have been confirmed so far):

"Why does finding a new exoplanet make scientists squeal and somersault over the telescopes? (Aside from the fact that some scientists are just squealy and somersautly in general. We don't let those scientists near the really expensive telescopes)."

They go on to explain that, for one thing, exoplanets are hard to find because, unlike stars, they don't give off their own light.

Some other nuggets:

"Not only is Mercury's year shorter than an Earth year, but a Mercurial year is also shorter than a Mercurial day! Mercury circles the sun every 88 Earth days but makes a full rotation around its axis (a Mercurial day) only every 176 Earth days. So a day on Mercury lasts 2 Mercurial years. And we thought Monday afternoons dragged on!"

Mars' moon Phoebos orbits only 3700 miles from Mars' surface; "that's about the distance from Washington, DC to London, England" and it's getting closer all the time. The word galaxy comes from the Greek word galactos, meaning milk, and the milky appearance of the Milky Way led to its ancient name, with one godly explanation being that Hera was trying to nurse Heracles but he was too strong and her milk spilled.

Gravitational effects have disclosed dark matter we can't see, and in fact only 5% of the universe is made up by observable matter. There are a lot of mysteries out there. "Special note: Despite astronomers' hobby of putting the word dark in front of things they can't observe, this does not work for everything. You can't get out of your math homework by telling your teacher it is 'dark algebra'."

You won't want to give this book to your relative who believes the Earth is flat. But for kids 9-12 (its target audience) and older ones like me curious about the universe, it's a fun way to learn. There are lots of photos and illustrations, and colorful formatting with the information bite-size. show less

This book is really good. The illustrations are good. I learned a lot.
- my 11 year old daughter's review

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This is a gorgeous book! My daughter, who has a big interest in space, dug right into it and started telling me different facts right away! "Hey Dad, did you know...?" And in almost every case, I did NOT know! A very inspiring book for any young mind who wants to know more about the "world" above us!

This absolutely delightful and informative book about some predatory animals and plants will entertain all ages. With just two pages per animal, the book is a quick read, but it is also packed with fascinating facts. Authors Jenn Dlugos and Charlie Hatton write with a decidedly cheeky tone, lacing the book with wry humor. Each chapter starts with a quiz, whose answer is given at the end of the chapter. In addition, the end of each chapter includes some thought-provoking questions and show more suggested activities.

Although the reading level is better suited to, say, grade 4 and up, parents and older children can read to younger ones, who will be just as fascinated.

I was so tickled with the humorous tone of the book that after I finished it I felt compelled to read about the authors. Lo and behold, they met through stand-up comedy. No surprise at all!

This is a wonderful book that will teach you about animals and plants that are, as Dlugos and Hatton call them, big bad bullies, mobsters, maniacs, identity thieves, and more. Such a fascinating glimpse into the natural world. Now I need to go read the rest of the books in this awesome "Things That Make You Go Yuck!" series. show less

The moment I received this book I placed it immediately in the hands of our school's Outdoor Education teacher. She is one of those people who will be elbow deep in dirt at any given moment, teaching kids about earthworms and composting and the like. I knew this would be a perfect book for a teacher like her!
YUCK! goes into delightfully icky detail (with squirm-inducing photos!) about interesting plant and animals who might not win first prize at any beauty contest, but can hold their own show more in evolutionary competitions. From parasites to stinky plants named after dead bodies this book is perfect for kids who have an interest in science and nature, and are ok with a little "yuck" factor! show less