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2018 Nominee

To Burp or Not to Burp: A guide to Your Body in Space

Written by Dr. Dave Williams and Loredana Cunti.
Published in 2016 by Annick Press.

Of all the questions astronauts are asked by kids, the most frequent one is “How do you go to the toilet in space?”

This book not only answers that question but many others about the effect of zero gravity on the human body: How do you brush your hair in space? What happens when you sweat? What does food taste like? The best thing is that the answers are provided by Dr. Dave Williams, a NASA astronaut who speaks from first-hand experience. Written for kids ages 7 to 10, this book uses age-appropriate language to explain the different phenomena that astronauts encounter during a mission. The bright, colorful pages, short blocks of text accompanied by photos and humorous illustrations make this a very attractive choice for young readers. The opening message from Dr. Dave empowers kids to follow his example by believing in themselves and following their dreams.

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15 thoughts on “To Burp or Not to Burp: A guide to Your Body in Space

  1. Hillhurst School

    This book is mostly about what happens to your body is space and a little about the International Space Station (ISS). The title is talking about a section in the book on not burping in a space suit.

    I recommend all students from grades 3 to 6 to read this book. The reason the book was made is to give information about what your body does in space. I think this book is not as good as Chris Hadfield’s “An Astronauts Guide To Life In Space” but I still like the information this book has. It is easy to figure out the writing about the page topic and what the pictures are about. And the book has lots of information on the ISS but not a lot about the solar system’s planets or sun.

    I think this book is a 10\10 with 10 the highest and 1 the lowest for all kids that are interested in this book.

  2. Hillhurst School

    This book is mostly about what your body does in space and compares that to what would happen on earth. And I want all grades to read this book and learn lots about space.

    I think that the purpose of the book is to give anyone some information about how your body works in space and that the goal has been achieved. I think this book is not as good as Chris Hadfield’s “An Astronaut’s Guide To life In Space” but it is still a good book to read. This book is missing a section that is all about the planets and solar system and a section about astronaut training. I think this book has text that is easy to understand and I think that the writing style is clear and it can also easily draw in the reader.

    I want all students to read this book and could even read this with a buddy because it is a great way to teach about space and is fun to read at the same time.

  3. Hillhurst School

    To Burp or not to Burp is an educational book that dives deep into the world of an astronaut. The purpose of this book is to teach you how gravity affects everything and your body changes. In this book, you will learn about daily things we do every day IN SPACE. It’s more complicated in space than in your house. We just do it without really thinking about it on Earth!
    How is this book fun to read? It is fun to read because of cartoon figures and things like astronauts and toilets which are hilarious to look at (don’t worry, there are actual photos too). It is organized in very clear sections where the title of a section is basically a question and it is answered very clearly and effectively too. The author, Dr. Dave Williams (don’t worry, he’s not a doctor), is an astronaut so you can trust that this book is great because he is just writing about his job. He wrote many more books than just this one and this one is the best book for what happens to your body in space.
    I think this book should include more about what people do in space like what are parts that needed to be fixed often and more information about the space suit like what does the space suit have/ what’s inside it. Some young children will find this book gross and some would find the underwear, armpit, and farting really funny so you might not want to give it to too young of kids.
    I totally think this deserved to be an RMBA 2018 book nominee. The cartoon figures, photos, and organization all merge into one great fun and educational book. Dr. Dave really puts effort into this book and many others. Attention: This is a MUST READ for curious kids and ‘space’ people because it’s really entertaining and interesting. You can’t leave this book until the end!

  4. Hillhurst School

    First Part
    To Burp or not to Burp is an educational book that dives deep into the world of an astronaut. The purpose of this book is to teach you how gravity affects everything and your body changes. In this book, you will learn about daily things we do every day IN SPACE. It’s more complicated in space than in your house. We just do it without really thinking about it on Earth!
    How is this book fun to read? It is fun to read because of cartoon figures and things like astronauts and toilets which are hilarious to look at (don’t worry, there are actual photos too). It is organized in very clear sections where the title of a section is basically a question and it is answered very clearly and effectively too. The author, Dr. Dave Williams (don’t worry, he’s not a doctor), is an astronaut so you can trust that this book is great because he is just writing about his job. He wrote many more books than just this one and this one is the best book for what happens to your body in space.

  5. Coalbanks

    i thought it was super interesting to think “this is how your body would work!” like it’s so cool! and it really tells what astronauts have to do and stuff like that so you should get it.

  6. Grande Cache Municipal Library & Sonrise Christian School

    This was a cool book about living in space! I liked it!

  7. Grande Cache Municipal Library and Sonrise Christian School

    I thought it was cool because I like space and the facts about space .

  8. Grande Cache Municipal Library and Sonrise Christian School

    i think it is awesome and disgusting and when he was flying that was COOL i wish i could be an astronaut. i love it.

  9. Grande Cache Municipal Library and Sonrise Christian School

    I would like to be an astronaut. I like to fly. from one to ten I rate 9.

  10. Grande Cache Municipal Library and Sonrise Christian School

    I thought it was kind a cool but kind of bad cause when we were eating our lunch it was gross the cool thing was that it was in space but he peed and stuff so it was kind of weird.

  11. Hillhurst School

    I think this is a great book because it has lots of info about how to guide your body in space and some facts about what happens when you burp or toot in space. It also has some good information about the food (they) astronauts eat and how. One of the most shocking facts I learned is that the toilet size is just about the size of a grapefruit! I was shocked. I definitely think this was really useful because it has a whole lot of information about your body in space, maybe some (astronauts) people that are planning to explore space can read this book too! This is a great book full of information!

  12. Springbank Middle School

    I definitely learned a lot about space and I liked how It was also quite funny but it wasn’t my favorite. But, that’s just my opinion. Joceline


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