Aliens and Other Worlds is a voyage of discovery, exploring the mystery of life on Earth and beyond. It’s a wonderful guide to scientific inquiry and the importance of creative thinking, the asking of pertinent questions and the challenging answers that often come with them. It’s an opportunity to speculate about microbial life on the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and ponder unsolved mysteries like the Wow! Signal, a powerful blast of radio energy from the constellation of Sagittarius that confounds astronomers to this day. And it’s an invitation to wonder on whether life might be possible on other Earths in faraway galaxies, and what might it look like?

This book is guaranteed to delight and engage enquiring minds with its succinct chapters, chatty writing style and vivid, playful illustrations. Award-winning astrophysicist and author Lisa Harvey- Smith has a rare talent for making science fun and accessible; she’s the writer of the bestselling children’s book Under the Stars: Astrophysics for Bedtime – one of my personal favourites. Aliens and Other Worlds is wonderful book to share with the whole family, highly recommended for independent readers ages 8+.

Athina Clarke is from Readings Malvern.