The Space Adventurer’s Guide: Your Passport to the Coolest Things to See and Do in the Universe

Peter McMahon and Josh Holinaty do a good job of bringing a unique concept to juvenile readers. has many interesting facts about space and space travel, as well as some crazy ideas about where space travel could be headed next! This 100 page book has 10 chapters, a table of contents, an index, a glossary (though it’s at the end of the first chapter and dubbed ‘Learn to Speak “Astronaut”’), as well as a plethora of other nonfiction text features (photos, drawings, sidebars, captions). The first chapter introduces readers to the kinds of ‘training’ and elements you would have to undertake before you could even consider a trip into space (for both astronauts and ‘regular’ space travellers). Chapters two and three discuss ‘actual’ potential space trips people can take (sub-orbit trips to experience four minutes of free-fall, as well as Earth orbit trips in the International Space Station). The rest of the chapters discuss the idea of potential future space trips, including space yachts, visiting Mars or Jupiter, or taking a trip on a comet!

Chapters 2 through 10 follow the same format (different from the first chapter) and include: the distance from Earth you would travel, how long your trip would take, what time of year you could go, highlights of the trip, what you need to do before you go, what your flight would be like, and things to do once you reach your destination. Interspersed throughout each chapter are random tidbits of information and quotes from people who have been in space. At the end of each chapter is a section called “Space Tour Insider” which gives readers more ‘specific’ bullet point facts about the current chapter they’re reading. For example, one of the “Space Tour Insider” facts in the Moon chapter is: “Don’t believe anyone who tries to sell you part of the Moon. Since the 1960s, various laws have banned any country or company from owning and selling parts of the Moon.”

Despite the uniformity of the chapters and the cohesive colour scheme (each chapter has its own colour with black and white), the book still seems somewhat chaotic. However, students may like the random facts and quotes in sidebars even though I wasn’t a fan of them. Some of the chapters didn’t seem to flow very well and seemed much too farfetched (for example, a trip to Saturn!) However, this book would be good as an introduction and complement to a space unit where teachers could facilitate an inquiry unit. However, doing so would require having students NOT read the book as it potentially answers a lot of the inquiry questions teachers might pose! Once students read through chapters two and three on space trips they might actually take, teachers could use chapters 4-10 as starting points to pose questions to students since they would already be familiar with the format of the chapters. For example, what kinds of recreational activities could you do on Mars? What would you need in order to live there or take part in these activities? What would a swimming pool or a buffet restaurant look like on a space yacht (in zero gravity)?!

Though is deemed nonfiction, and there are certainly enough facts to support this classification, the book stretches the boundaries of nonfiction into speculation and should be read and treated accordingly.