Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet - by Curtis Manley (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Do you wonder
if humans
are the only beings who wonder
if they are alone
in the universe?

Our sun is a star.
In the night sky are all kinds of stars,
and orbiting those stars
are planets like the ones in our own solar system.

Could those planets have life
like we do on Earth?

Planet Earth is not too big,
not too small, not too hot,
and not too cold. It's just right.
Our very own Goldilocks planet . . . .

Follow a young girl
as she explores these questions
in this gorgeous book about the wondrous search
for another Goldilocks planet.

Review Quotes

★ "The enthusiastic main character lightens what could be weighty scientific information, providing an entry point for newcomers. Lanan's pleasing, watercolorlike artwork moves between expansive visions of outer space and panels that highlight key concepts. VERDICT An ideal addition for libraries building or updating STEAM collections."--School Library Journal, starred review

"Richly informative prose and intimate yet expansive art show a child's contagious enthusiasm for the book's subject." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Curtis Manley grew up building model rockets and reading science fiction about aliens and long trips to other star systems--none of which had Jupiter-like planets close to their stars. Later he studied volcanoes and the geology of other planets and moons. In the high desert of Idaho he mapped huge lava flows similar to ones on Venus. Curtis lives near Seattle with his wife and their daughter, who was born the year that the first exoplanet around a sun-like star was discovered.

Curtis is the author of Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet and Shawn Loves Sharks.

Jessica Lanan has long been enchanted by the mysteries of the cosmos. Exoplanets are too far away for her to visit, but illustrating them is the next best thing. Jessica currently lives in her native state of Colorado with her husband, three-legged cat, and baby daughter, who was born during the making of Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet.

Jessica's illustrations can also be found in Finding Narnia: The Story of C. S. Lewis and His Brother Warnie.