Kashi-
I did a presentation at a conference for teachers about space literature for students, and here is my list of books for middle school students, and I'll add a couple from my high school list. If anyone wants to see the full high school list or the elementary lists, let me know and I'll post them. Enjoy!
Kjargirl

Top Ten Books for Middle School


Get A Grip on Astronomy. By Robin Kerrod. 1999. 192 pages. A “cool” book full of astronomical facts and trivia. Each page is an adventure!

The Planet Hunters. By Dennis B. Fradin. 1997. 148 pages. An extremely readable and interesting book about humanity’s search of the heavens, from early astronomers to the Hubble Space Telescope.

How Do You Go To The Bathroom in Space? By Bill Pogue. Skylab astronaut Pogue answers questions on almost every aspect of spaceflight, including the most often asked question.

The Illustrated A Brief History of Time. By Stephen Hawking. 1996 (Original 1988). 248 pages. Pictures and illustrations make this version of Hawking’s classic more readable for students.

Flying To The Moon and Other Strange Places. By Michael Collins. A middle school version of “Carrying the Fire.” Collins’ sense of humor makes this an entertaining book.

Space Exploration Projects for Young Scientists. By Gregory Vogt. 1995. 144 pages.
Written by a science teacher, this book focuses on activities to explain such topics as rocketry, orbit, and microgravity. Thorough procedures and explanations of experiments.

The Adventures of Sojourner: The mission to Mars that thrilled the world. By Susi Trautmann Wunsch. 1998. 62 pages. A close-up look at the spacecraft and people that captured the world’s attention during the summer of 1997.

Moon Landing: Race For The Moon. DK Books. By Carole Stott. 1999. A typical DK book; lots of pictures and information on each page.

Opening The Space Frontier. Ray Spangenburg and Diane Moser. 1989. The history of spaceflight, from the dreams of Tsiolkovsky to the X-15 to the moon landings.

Spacefarers of the 80’s and 90’s: The Next 100 People in Space. By Alcestis R. Oberg. 1985. 238 pages. A look at the education and experiences that are required for astronauts, with interviews with some of the early shuttle astronauts.

Top Ten (Or So) Space Books For High School


A Man On the Moon. By Andrew Chaikin. 1994. 670 pages. The Apollo Bible.

Orbit: NASA Astronauts Photograph the Earth. By Jay Apt, Michael Helfert, and Justin Wilkinson. National Geographic Society. 1996. 224 pages. A fascinating look at our Earth from space. A unique geography aid. I never tire of looking at this book.

The Handy Space Answer Book. By Phillis Engelbert & Diane L. Dupius. 1998. 576 pages. Answers to 1,200 questions about almost any space topic you can imagine.

Apollo 13 (Lost Moon). By Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. 1994. 418 pages. Jim Lovell’s original story, a little different from the movie.

The Dream of Spaceflight: Essays on the Near Edge of Infinity. By Wyn Wachhorst. 2000. 225 pages. A philosophical and sometimes spiritual discussion of why we explore space mostly focuses on the Apollo program. A unique book.


To Rise From Earth: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to Spaceflight. By Wayne Lee. 1995 . 310 pages. An excellent book to explain things like thrust and orbital mechanics to non-rocket scientists.


Apollo: An Eyewitness Account. By Alan Bean with Andrew Chaikin. 1998. 176 pages. A collection of paintings and anecdotes by astronaut Bean of real and imagined events on the moon. Also looks at works in progress and various painting mediums and techniques.