National Geographic’s 11 Planets, written by David Aguilar, is
one of the best kid-friendly reference texts on the planets. Up-
to-date and full of amazingly vivid computer graphics, 11
Planets teaches students about the new definition of the term
“planet” and introduces Ceres in the Asteroid Belt and Eris in
the Kuiper Belt. Each planet is given an individual two page
spread including a brief informative narrative, three fun facts,
a reference to Greek/Roman mythology, its orbit’s position
around the sun, and unbelievable graphics. This is an amazing
resource for classroom when studying Earth, Earth’s place in the
solar system, and other planets. (ES.4c) The pictures throughout
this book would really interest younger children, thus making 11
Planet a great read-aloud. This book would also work really well
for research in fifth or sixth grade (6.8) In addition, the
interesting tidbits in each planet’s profile include references
to Greek/Roman mythology. For example: “Jupiter was the king of
the ancient Roman g