Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Need an Astronomy Textbook for DS7

My son has been asking me for an astronomy (or space science) textbook for months now. He discovered his Dad's old college astronomy textbook on our bookshelf, but he wants a textbook that's aimed at kids or teens, not adults. I ordered space encyclopedias from Amazon, thinking they would do. Nope. He wants a bonafide textbook with units, questions, etc.

I tried looking at some homeschool resources but kept getting books with a decidedly religious viewpoint. I'd like him to be able to synthesize religion and science in his own time and his own way, so those books are not an option. I found some textbooks on Amazon that were $100+, which is steep. Other texts were cheaper but were black and white. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

My DS6 loves this book (he has the whole collection of Basher books):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0753462907/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

It's not exactly a textbook, but it is informative and fun.

We were faced with this same problem when DD was about ten. Eventually, I hit upon the solution-- survey/intro texts written for community college/community-ed use.

You can often purchase older editions of such textbooks for pennies on the dollar. I think that I got one for DD for less than ten dollars at one point.

The Prentice Hall Science Explorer series (middle school textbooks) can usually be had online for $1 apiece. They have units and study questions.

DeeDee

Have you looked at http://www.ck12.org/student/ for their free astronomy text?