Author Franklyn M. Branley Dies

Franklyn M. Branley, the author of more than 140 books, died May 5 in Brunswick, ME. He was 86. The cause of his death was not released.

Branley was best known among librarians and teachers for his astronomy books for children, as well as for the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series, which he launched in 1960 with educator Roma Gans and editor Elizabeth Riley. Branley wrote more than 20 books for the series, which was originally published by Thomas Y. Crowell. Today, HarperCollins issues approximately six new Let's-Read-and-Find-Out titles each year.

Branley was trained as an astronomer and a teacher. He was hired in 1957 by the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City to design its educational programs. He became chairman of the planetarium in 1968 and retired four years later to write full time. His most recent book, The International Space Station: Stage 2 (HarperCollins, 2000), was named one of Booklist's top 10 science books of the year for children. HarperCollins will publish his final book, Mission to Mars, this fall.