Nothing beats the romance of gazing up at the sky on a starry night. If you’re far away from the city you can even see the faint nebulae of the Milky Way, the Magellanic Clouds and, depending on the time of year, the Orion Nebula.
We think of space as beautiful, and it is. But like belladonna – also known as deadly nightshade – space’s beauty doesn’t make it any less deadly. “50 Ways to Die in Space” presents both sides of this deadly beauty, personified by two little cartoon characters.
One marvels at the majesty of the cosmos, while the other earnestly explains what the extreme environments in space would do to an unprotected human body.
The tongue-in-cheek graphic novel will delight children and adults alike with the characters’ banter and the drawings of all the ways an errant space traveller can meet an untimely demise.
The essential grossness is presented humorously: “You could avoid dying of radiation sickness my taking off your helmet.”
Important misconceptions presented by Hollywood are seamlessly addressed and explained. Although you do instantly fry to a crisp when exposed to intense heat, since space is a vacuum you would freeze to death very slowly.
Through its non-didactic nature, children reading the book will learn about astrophysics and physiology through osmosis, and also the true meaning of Shangri-La.
Children's Books, Humour, Science, Kids, Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
About The Author
Dr Eileen O’Hely is a science communicator, award-winning children's writer and literary competition judge. Her work has been translated into Korean, Turkish, Chinese, Lao, Burmese, Vietnamese and Tetun.
Her Kitten Kaboodle series is on the Premier’s Reading Challenge in several Australian states. Eileen is an alumna of Playlab’s Incubator program, and her theatre script Just Desserts was shortlisted for the Lane Cove Literary Award.
Eileen donates picture book and graphic novel texts to not-for-profit Library For All. Her locative fiction stories are available on Brisbane City Council’s Outdoor Reads app.
Eileen holds a double degree in Arts/Science (Hons) from Melbourne University and a PhD in Astrophysics from UNSW. Her day jobs have included university tutor, English teacher, website producer, and sports journalist.
She is currently a presenter at Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, and her collaborative full dome show with recording artist K Mak has appeared in planetariums around the country and will be performed at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Eileen holds a Blue Card and delivers readings and writing workshops to at schools, libraries and festivals. She will be the keynote speaker for VASTROC 2025, the biennial Victorian Astronomy Convention. Eileen lives in Brisbane with her husband and three children.
