This board book! Just look at that cover! A stunning introduction to the constellations, Animals in the Sky has foldout pages and shows ten different constellations. One aspect of the book that I like is that it gives children clues about what a constellation might be before giving away the constellation's identity. For example, "I glide through the sky with my mighty wings. I have a sharp beak and powerful claws. What animal in the sky am I?" Children can then unfold the page and find (in this instance) the eagle, Altair.
In some cases the book doesn't provide the Latin name for constellations like Piscis Austrinus (the Southern Fish), or Lepus the rabbit, or Ursa Major (Greater Bear), but hopefully if families and children show enough interest in the constellations, that interest will lead to conversations about their Latin names. Or maybe it won't. What's beautiful about the book is that it introduces little ones to thinking about the night sky and how to see more than just individual stars. By connecting the dots (or in this case by connecting stars) children will be able to look at the night sky in an entirely new way (and without a doubt, make their own constellations). How wonderful!
Lastly, the gold, navy, turquoise and white color pallet is really lovely and I'm just so glad to see a board book on the shelf like this. We need more of them!
Enjoy!
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