Star of the party: The solar system celebrates! by Jan Carr, illustrated by Juana Medina

This sweet book joins a number of other informational fiction picture books about the solar system which anthropomorphize the planets. Medina's illustrations, which add pen and ink details like arms, smiles, and simple faces fit the cheerful, upbeat tone of the story.

The opening pages feature a guest list, with the sun and its planets explaining their composition and place in the rotation of planets around the sun. The story begins when Earth suggests a birthday party for sun and the planets begin gathering guests, discussing presents, and planning the party. Along the way they talk about their moons, current space discoveries, their formation, and much more. There's even a brief appearance of the mysterious Planet X, or Planet Nine, and fireworks of rockets, meteors, and comets.

The end pages link to a number of current scientific sites that give up-to-date information on outer space and extra comic discussions between the planets about the difference between rotation and revolve, as well as other subjects.

A humorous and informative story about space which will interest children in astronomy and more discoveries about the universe. It would also be great ground-work for an art or stem program with the planets, learning more about their placement, movement, and composition.

Verdict: This is a fun addition to the genre of anthropomorphic space and other features, mostly seen in Stacy McAnulty's books. A good introduction to the solar system that's fun as well as educational.

ISBN: 9781524773120; Published April 2021 by Crown; Purchased for the library