Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos - a review

Sisson, Stephanie Roth. 2014. Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the mysteries of the cosmos. New York: Roaring Brook.

In simple text augmented by word bubbles, thought bubbles, and sketches, Stephanie Roth Sisson gives us the highlights of Carl Sagan's life—but more importantly, she offers a sense of his wondrous enthusiasm for the cosmos,

It gave Carl goose bumps to think about what he had learned about the stars, planets, and the beginnings of life.  He wanted everyone to understand so that they could feel like a part of the stars as he did.
So he went on television.

This is the first book that Stephanie Roth Sisson has both written and illustrated.  The fact that she is enthralled with her subject is apparent in the artwork. Painted cartoon images (often in panels with word bubbles), depict a happy Sagan, wide-eyed and curious.  While some pages are like panel comics, others are full-bleed, double spreads depicting the vastness of the darkened skies, dotted by planets or stars.  One foldout opens vertically, reminding us of our infinitesimal existence in the cosmos.  We are so small, yet we are reminded,

The Earth and every living thing are made of star stuff.

Star Stuff is a 2015 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award Honor book for "outstanding nonfiction for children."

Substantial back matter includes Author's Note, Notes, Bibliography and Sources, Special Thanks, and Source Notes.

Preview the first eight pages of Star Stuff on the publisher's website.

Note: 
Carl Sagan graduated from Rahway High School in Rahway, NJ.  As far as I can tell, he's not mentioned anywhere on the school's website. Pity.

It's STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

See all of today's STEM-related posts at the STEM Friday blog.

Pluto's Secret - a review

Weitekamp, Margaret and DeVorkin, David. 2013. Pluto's Secret. New York: Abrams.


Written by experts from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and humorously illustrated in watercolors, colored pencils and pen and ink by Diane Kidd, Pluto's Secret gives Pluto a chance to speak for itself about its discovery, its addition as the 9th planet in the solar system, and its eventual reclassification as an icy world in the Kuiper belt.

The astronomers soon learned that Pluto did not always stay in its place.  Sometimes it even switched places with Neptune, coming closer to the sun that Neptune did.

"Hey!" yelled the astronomers.  "Planets cannot do that!"

"Well, I can and I do!" Pluto giggled.

Remember, the icy world Pluto had a secret - a clue about what exists at the outer edges of the solar system and across the universe.

"You still have not figured me out!" sang Pluto.  "Keep trying!"

Balancing information and entertainment, kids will enjoy learning that Pluto was named by 11-year-old, Venetia Burney of England, and that its orbit is tilted, tipped "up like a slide in the playground." The text is similar to Comic Sans Serif and is presented on white background punctuated with occasional illustrated or colored text, and surrounded by anthropomorphic illustrations of the celestial bodies.

As one would expect from the Smithsonian, the book contains photographs of Pluto's discovery, discoverers and young Venetia Burns, a Who's Who of planets, Glossary, Notes, Suggested Reading, Bibliography and Index.

A final note that shouldn't need to be mentioned, but I will mention it anyway:
Pluto was deemed to be something other than a planet in 2006.  Whether you are a teacher, a librarian, a mother, or anyone who is connected with the education of young people, if you still have books that declare Pluto to be a planet, you need to throw those books away - now.

 Today's collection of Nonfiction Monday posts may be found at Instantly Interruptible.

Every Soul a Star

Mass, Wendy. 2008. Every Soul a Star. New York: Little Brown.

Ally is bright, home-schooled, self-assured, and fascinated with astronomy. She lives with her family in a remote campground called Moon Shadow.

Bree is popular and beautiful. She’s definitely “A” list at her suburban school; and she knows exactly what she wants out of life.

Jack is artistic, a dreamer and a bit of loner. He attends the same school as Bree, but is definitely not on the “A” list. In fact, he just failed science.

Bree’s parents are scientists, Jack’s science teacher is a veteran eclipse chaser and tour director, and Ally’s family’s campground lies directly in the path of the upcoming total solar eclipse. The lives of Ally, Bree, and Jack are about to align as sure as surely as the moon and sun.

Written in the alternating first-person accounts of Ally, Jack, and Bree, Every Soul a Star recounts the confluence of life-changing events which bring the three teens together at Moon Shadow to view the total eclipse of the sun. While searching the skies for exoplanets and signs of life on other galaxies, the teens learn as much about themselves as they learn about the heavens.

Readers are lucky to occasionally find a book that truly ‘speaks’ to them. Wendy Mass’ book will speak to many teens – the popular, the artistic, the intelligent, the extroverted, the introverted, the analytic, and their many combinations. Every Soul a Star is a celebration of what makes each of us unique - and if we learn something about the cosmos in the process, so much the better!