The objective of the book 'Do Other Earths Exist' by Jennifer Lombardo is to introduce the concept of exoplanets to children with the help of small paragraphs of scientific information and bright and colourful images. The title and the book cover are catchy, but common and not different from other similar books. According to details given on Amazon, the book is addressed to children 7-10 years old, but I have difficulty getting convinced that to be the case. In fact, I have no clue about the age group the book is aimed at. For example, certain words in the text are given in bold and their explanation or meaning is given in the Glossary section at the end of the book. The list includes words like — confirm, detect, launch, estimate, observable, but leaves out white dwarfs, red giants and so on.

I understand that exoplanets is a comparatively new and wide field, so it is very difficult to present all aspects of the subject in a short book of 32 pages, that too for children. However, whatever matter is included here, could have been presented in a systematic manner, the direct and simplest approach could have been — planets (maybe geology and atmosphere), solar system, exoplanets, habitable exoplanets, space exploration or instrumentation (Hubble, Chandra and James Webb). In fact, the finer details of instrumentation e.g., terrestrial and space telescopes, and experiment methodology e.g., spectroscopy could have been moved to the Appendix section, which would have brought continuity and order to the narrative. Images could have been more informative and colourful.

The layout of the book consists of text on one page and graphic illustration or images on the next. These are accompanied by a short note titled ‘Explore More’. The title suggest that the accompanying text gives clues to the reader to explore further information on the internet or by discussing with teachers. However, there is nothing of the sort, and it is meant only to present tidbits of information. To make it worse, the text is given in uppercase making it extremely difficult to read and comprehend.

Lastly, the book falls short at giving credits to people associated with this field and whose efforts brought us to the present stage of science. Consider the sentence ‘A scientist in 1990 found the first planet that orbits a sunlike star’. Science as it is done today, even more so in astrophysics, is rarely an individual task. If indeed this was the case for the discovery mentioned here, it would have been pertinent to give the researcher’s name. Lack of any names makes the book a passive study devoid of any human element. There was a lot of scope for mentioning scientists associated with this field within the scope of this book; for example, photographs and/or short biographies of Edwin Hubble, S. Chandrasekhar and James Webb could have been included.

By its scope, the book raises expectations but fails in fulfilling them. However, there are no typographical errors.

Do Other Earths Exist?: Mysteries of Space by Jennifer Lombardo is a children's non fiction book. Until 1990, no one could say for certain that planets existed beyond our solar system. Today, thanks to unprecedented advancements in technology, astronomers have found more than 5,000 of these exoplanets. Some are Earth-sized, some orbit a sun-like star, and some are rocky rather than gaseous. Could any of them hold life as we know it? Full-color photographs and engaging, age-appropriate text let students explore the exciting field of exoplanet study. A glossary of terms is provided to help expand readers’ scientific vocabulary.

Do Other Earths Exist? is a well written and designed introduction to the search for other inhabitable planets for young readers. I thought the information was well organized and accessible. While those that have been space obsessed for awhile ad have already done some reading, not everything here will be new information. However, since it is such a specific subject I think the angle and focus makes the read engaging and informational for young readers. I appreciated the glossary and information for further reading and exploration included in the endmatter a great deal.

For kids who love space 🌌
Do other Earths exist? The answer is that we don't know...yet. This short book teaches young minds what it is we're looking for, what makes up Earth, and what this other Earth would need to be habitable, and just where we might find it 🌎

This book is all about exoplanets (planets found around stars other than the sun). It’s all about what they are, how to find them, what they may be like, and if life may be found there (and what signs there might be to pick up if there is).

This is a surprisingly informative little book. It gives a lot of information but manages to make it understandable for the younger reader that is just starting to be interested in the topics being talked about. The illustrations and graphics are a great addition. They add a lot more information to the narrative. I like that there is a glossary in the back for more unknown and technical terms. I also love that there is a section for more books about the topic for people wanting to read further. Overall I highly recommend this for all younger readers looking to learn more about astronomy in general and this subject in particular. It’s a very smart read in such a short book and a lot can be gained from it in my opinion.