The mysteries of the Universe: Discover the best-kept secrets of space by Will Gater

D.K. Publishing, 2020. ISBN: 9780241412473.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Stunning photographs and interesting, easy to read information make this a must have for libraries and for people who love astronomy. As with all DK publications, the lay-out is beautiful and the information is excellent, and The mysteries of the universe stands out with its sparkling cover and gold edged pages.
The author, Will Gator, is an astronomer, author and science presenter and his text is easy to read and understand. Most pages of text are accompanied by a beautiful photograph or illustration and are short enough to be read aloud with a class or a family member. They are also short enough for an interested child to manage to read alone. The well organised Table of Contents and Index will help eager researchers to discover what they want to delve into and people who like to flick through books will find themselves stopping and reading sections. All the planets are beautifully illustrated with excellent descriptions, most with two or more pages of information accompanied by pages of photographs or illustrations. The striking colours of the photographs of Nebula caught my eye and I had to stop and read about them. This section on Nebula introduced them and then there was a page about an emission nebula, with a superb red and black photo of the Lagoon Nebula on the opposite page. The next section gave information about Planetary nebula, with equally gorgeous pictures, leading onto dark nebula and reflection nebula. This format was followed in information about the Night Sky, the Solar System, the Kuiper Belt, the Oort Cloud, Nebula and Galaxies
This is a hard-covered volume that will become a family favourite in those homes where people are fascinated with the night sky. It is equally an excellent volume for the classroom or library.
Pat Pledger