Planet Earth is Blue

Nova is a nonverbal twelve-year-old girl with autism who counts down the days until the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger in January 1986. Her older sister Bridget taught her about astronomy and space exploration, but Bridget has disappeared. Nova moves to a new foster home and starts at a new school, where she must navigate classes and relationships without Bridget's help. She writes letters to Bridget about her experiences and her anticipation of watching the Challenger launch together as they had planned. The story follows Nova through her first weeks at school as she faces doubts from teachers about her capabilities, makes connections with her new foster family, and maintains hope that Bridget will return in time for the historic space mission. This middle-grade novel explores themes of sisterly bonds, neurodiversity, and the human drive to reach for the stars. Through Nova's perspective, readers gain understanding about different ways of experiencing and communicating with the world.

Readers connect deeply with the portrayal of Nova, a nonverbal autistic protagonist, and her relationship with her sister Bridget. Teachers and parents report the book helps build empathy and understanding for neurodivergent students. Liked: - Authentic representation of autism from an autistic author - Historical details about the 1986 Challenger mission - Educational value for middle-grade students - Strong emotional impact - Clear, accessible writing style Disliked: - Some found the pacing slow in the middle sections - A few readers wanted more development of secondary characters - Several mentioned difficulty with the letter-writing format Ratings: Goodreads: 4.33/5 (2,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.7/5 (280+ ratings) "This book helped my students understand their classmate with autism," noted one teacher reviewer. Another reader wrote, "The space program backdrop adds depth to an already moving story." School Library Journal gave it a starred review, praising its "honest portrayal of family dynamics."

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🚀 Like Nova in the book, many children across America watched the Challenger launch live in their classrooms on January 28, 1986, as NASA sent the first teacher, Christa McAuliffe, into space. 🌟 Author Nicole Panteleakos drew from her own experiences working with autistic children and her background in theater to create Nova's character and story. 📚 Though Nova is nonverbal, she can read at a high level—which reflects the real experiences of some autistic individuals who may struggle with verbal communication but excel in other areas. 🎨 The book's title comes from David Bowie's song "Space Oddity," which features the line "Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do." 🌍 The story takes place in January 1986, during a time when understanding and acceptance of autism was far more limited than it is today, and many children like Nova were often misunderstood or underestimated.