A Day in the Life of an Astronaut, Mars and the Distant Stars

As the subtitle on the front cover says: ‘Space as You’ve Never Seen it Before.’ This is a highly original book and continues the series, A Day in the Life… by Mike Barfield and Jess Bradley. They were the 2021 winners of the Blue Peter Awards: Best Book with Facts. This partnership of author/cartoonist Barfield and illustrator/comic artist Bradley works well to produce a thoroughly researched and attractive comic style.

Whilst the book is divided into three sections: The Solar System, Outer Space and Space Travel, the reader can easily dip into it wherever they decide. Serious facts about all things to do with Space are presented in different ways to enthral the reader. ‘A Day in the Life of … ‘ pages provide innovative  stories about, for example: the sun, oxygen molecules, fast food! ‘The Bigger Picture’ pages go into more depth on topics and you can also find ‘The Even Bigger Picture’ articles. My favourite stories are the ‘Secret Diaries’ and I especially enjoyed The Secret Diary of an Astro-Mouse where a mouse recounts its journey on the International Space Station!

This colourful, fact-packed volume will delight any older student keen on all things connected with Space. The graphic novel style will appeal to many youngsters and draw them into learning lots of interesting information along the way. The numerous diagrams and varied presentation of facts encourage the reader to scan through the book. Alternatively there is a helpful index along with a full glossary. Both author and illustrator working together here seem to have reached a winning formula with this series and I look forward to the next title.