Astronauts and What They Do

Liesbet Slegers, a prolific Belgian author and graphic designer, has written many children’s books, which have been translated from Dutch into English. She studied graphics and illustrations at Saint Lucas Institute in Antwerp, and she writes and illustrates all of her books. Her illustrations are identifiable by their bold and bright colors, typically featuring toddlers in various situations. While the drawings are simple, their bright playful colors make it easy for young children to follow along with the story without being overwhelmed. Slegers often uses her books to help toddlers understand some of their first experiences and acknowledges that those situations can be both exciting and scary. Astronauts and What They Do is a part of her Professional Series which also includes books about other careers, such as dentists, teachers, archeologists, and chefs. While the illustrations in the book seem to be intended for a toddler, the text is longer and has more information that may be better suited for preschool and kindergarten ages. The book covers such topics as gravity, preparation and training for going into space, the equipment that astronauts have on their suits, the food that astronauts can eat while they are in space, and so on. In a way that is easy to follow, Slegers leads the reader into the wonderment and discovery of scientific questions about space travel and even includes some clean bathroom humor about life in space!