An Alphabet in Space

Written and Illustrated by: R.M. Smith
Publisher: Clarence-Henry Books
Publication Date: April 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0988290914
Reviewed by: Holly Connors
Review Date: May 4, 2023

Are you ready to blast off into space? In author R.M. Smith’s newest book, An Alphabet in Space, children will love learning the alphabet while also devouring plenty of facts about space.

Way up in the sky,
most everything looks small,
but if you get a little closer,
it isn’t small at all.
It’s rocky and it moves really,
really fast, as it soars easily
and steadily past.
Aa is for Asteroid!

And so starts the adventure! With choice words and perfectly flowing rhymes, the author takes youngsters on a fantastic journey through space. Readers will learn about comets, planets, and constellations, as well as amazing things like dark matter, pulsars, and quasars. And while some of the topics might seem too complicated for young minds, the author explains each thing in very simple, easy-to-understand ways, and ways that also rhyme. That’s not an easy thing to do!

Going in a big circle, every last one,
these dwarf planets and ice,
they orbit the sun.
Kk is for Kuiper Belt!

The full-page illustration used to accompany the above rhyme shows the sun, with those dwarf planets and ice circling it. And in case a child isn't sure just what part of the drawing makes up the Kuiper Belt, there are four brightly colored arrows pointing to them - a fantastic way to illustrate the Kuiper Belt for young children.

There are many alphabet books on the market today, and what sets this one apart from others is the unique way it approaches so many space “objects,” things that many people would likely be hard-pressed to correctly explain. And yet, R.M. Smith pulls it off perfectly. As an adult reading this book for review, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed every single page. And even better? I learned some things, and I can only imagine how a space-obsessed youngster will react when given this book.

It should be noted that the author also illustrated An Alphabet in Space, and his devotion to the topic shines through with each picture. They are bright, cheerful, and beautifully convey what the text is explaining.

Quill says: An engaging book that will help children learn the alphabet while learning some very cool things about space.