Twinkle, Twinkle, Nighttime Sky by Elizabeth Everett & Beatriz Castro

This is 100% the book you should buy for any astronomy-minded young readers you have!

Throughout the pages of this picture book, a diverse set of children look at and learn about the nighttime sky, with accompanying text set roughly to the cadence of the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star nursery rhyme. Whether they’re outdoor campers appreciating the crisp beauty of the stars overhead, budding astronomers with telescopes or young scholars gathered around books indoors, kids are shown not only appreciating but also investigating the marvels and mysteries of outer space.

Elizabeth Everett briefly discusses the two chief occupants of Earth’s night sky — the stars and moon — before talking about all the other wonderful things beyond our atmosphere. Planets and galaxies and black holes are all touched upon, as are our human endeavors to find and catalog these wonders. The book ends not only with a gentle exhortation for readers to keep wondering and exploring, but also several pages on the science and history of space exploration.

I loved Beatriz Castro’s art throughout this book. It does a great job of bringing each stanza to life, turning on a dime from scientific illustrations to more cartoony depictions of kids having fun. Her colors are luminous, capable of both the cool glow associated with the night sky as well as the warmer lights of fire and electricity. The art brings a lovely balance to the book overall, subtly reinforcing how science isn’t just a thing we study but an integral part of our everyday existences.

This is a great springboard volume for kids interested in the cosmos, as it whets the appetite for knowledge while introducing further avenues for exploration. It’s a wonderful addition to any science library for young readers.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Nighttime Sky by Elizabeth Everett & Beatriz Castro was published October 8 2024 by Science, Naturally! and is available from all good booksellers, including