We’ve all seen videos of astronauts floating inside the International Space Station (ISS) as it circles the earth. Why do they float? Is there no gravity in the ISS?

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, talks about “microgravity” in the ISS, but what exactly is that? Wouldn’t even a small amount of gravity keep astronauts from floating? The questions intrigued me and led to the idea of writing a kids’ book about gravity. If I could explain gravity to my grandkids (at the time, ages 4 to 11), that would certainly help my own understanding. I also figured parents and grandparents would love to read such a book to their pre-schoolers – after all, doesn’t everyone want to learn about gravity?

Turns out, “Why do the astronauts float?” is not so simple a question.  There is gravity in the ISS, which flies 250 miles above us, but the speed of the station as it circles the Earth counterbalances the gravitational effect.

“…counterbalances the gravitational effect”? This is a subject for kids? After more research, I still thought it could be, just not with so many syllables. I hired an illustrator for the book, and included color pictures on every page. They show, among other things, how challenging life can be without gravity, including sleeping and eating.

Gravity Will Always Pull You Down…Unless You’re an Astronaut: A Child’s Introduction To Gravity, is just 37 colorful pages, with a small amount of text on each page. To enhance learning, it includes a short quiz at the end.

Mission accomplished: gravity explained and illustrated, for kids.