ALA Booklist

Reusing many of the striking NASA photographs from his books on individual planets and the Sun, Simon takes readers on a quick tour of the Solar System. After several introductory pages placing the system within the galaxy and showing the order of the planets, he discusses the Sun, planets, moons, and comets and meteors. Dramatic, full-color photos offer stunning views of these objects. Occasionally, paintings and diagrams also illustrate points, such as the greenhouse effect on Venus and the asteroid belt. In a practical move, Simon supplies a great deal of planetary information (distance from the Sun, equatorial diameter, atmospheric gases, surface gravity, number of satellites and rings) on the endpapers, along with a picture showing the relative sizes of the planets and the Sun. One of those must have books for children's nonfiction collections, this will be useful as well as beautiful for years to come. Consider multiple copies. (Reviewed Oct. 15, 1992)

Horn Book

The culmination of Simon's planets series is a fine, comprehensive work on the solar system. Similar to the others in format, the book brings together information on all the planets, a good comparison chart, and typically excellent color photographs. Beautifully designed and a pleasure to use, this latest edition is updated with information from recent explorations. Websites. Glos., ind.

School Library Journal (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 3-6 Revised and updated, this edition takes readers on a journey through the solar system with upgraded photos, content, and glossary from its predecessors (1992, 2007). While much of the content remains the same as the previous edition, small details have been adjusted, such as Jupiter's clouds, which are no longer "mostly hydrogen gas, not water droplets like clouds on Earth" but are now simply "frozen ammonia droplets." Although these details may be nearly imperceptible to young readers, what will stand out are the captivating photographs. The images, many of which are from NASA, are remarkably crisp and more detailed than before, giving a nod to changes in imaging technology in the past decade. As stated in the author's note, Simon uses comparisons to help readers comprehend the scale of these celestial masses ("If Earth were the size of a basketball, the sun would be as big as a basketball court."). He does not return the favor for specific calculations, though, thus leaving readers to grapple with the meaning of "the crust, which ranges from 5 to 30 miles deep" and "the mantle, an 1,800-mile-thick layer of heavy rock." Furthermore, some words do not appear in the glossary, such as typhoon and asteroid , and the unexplained transition from "800 degrees Fahrenheit" to "-300&6;F" may confuse some readers. However, the brief overview of the solar system and the spacecraft sent to explore it make this title a worthwhile consideration for school and public libraries. Meaghan Darling, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ