Astronomy: Series Nonfiction
Reviewed by John Peters, New York Public Library -- School Library Journal, 11/1/2007
New Series Astronomy Books
In August of 2006, the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a Dwarf Planet, instantly rendering great swathes of the astronomy collections in every library outdated. Unsurprisingly, authors and publishers sprang to fill the breach, and by the following January even titles for children in the lower and middle grades had been announced. As the gathering below shows, the solar system’s new official configuration has also sparked new or revised editions of several entire series on the planets and other constituent parts—which provides a unique opportunity for librarians to examine, and refresh, holdings in one of science’s fastest-changing areas.
DUNN, Mary R. A Look at Earth. ISBN 978-1-4042-3827-5. LC 2007003399.DUNN, Mary R.. A Look at Mars. ISBN 978-1-4042-3838-2. LC 2007005255.
DUNN, Mary R.. A Look at Mercury ISBN 978-1-4042-3825-1. LC 2007001052.
DUNN, Mary R.. A Look at Venus ISBN 978-1-4042-3826-8. LC 2007002331.
SLADE, Suzanne. A Look at Jupiter ISBN 978-1-4042-3829-9. LC 2007007137.
SLADE, Suzanne. A Look at Neptune. ISBN 978-1-4042-3832-9. LC 2007011804.
SLADE, Suzanne. A Look at Saturn. ISBN 978-1-4042-3830-5. LC 2007008662.
SLADE, Suzanne. A Look at Uranus. ISBN 978-1-4042-3831-2. LC number unavailable. ea vol: 24p. (Astronomy Now! Series). diags. illus. photos. reprods. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Rosen/PowerKids. Nov. 2007. PLB $21.25.
Gr 2-3-One of the first with the news about Pluto, Anna Kaspar’s A Look at Pluto and Other Dwarf Planets (PowerKids, January, 2007), is now tardily joined by eight complementary volumes, one per “real” planet. Each one offers a similar set of topical chapters, with texts printed in large, well-spaced type placed opposite page-sized photos, composite photos, or digital renditions. Signs of haste remain despite the delayed publication date; in Mars, for instance, a schematic view of the inner planets includes Saturn, “rovers” are mentioned without being either depicted or defined, and the author defines the planet’s equator as “the line that breaks up its two hemispheres.”
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Earth. ISBN 978-1-4296-0731-5. LC 2007004450.ADAMSON, Thomas K. Jupiter. ISBN 978-1-4296-0738-4. LC 2007004451.
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Mars. ISBN 978-1-4296-0737-7. LC 2007004452.
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Mercury. ISBN 978-1-4296-0735-3. LC 2007004453.
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Neptune. ISBN 978-1-4296-0732-2. LC 2007004454.
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Pluto: A Dwarf Planet. ISBN 978-1-4296-0739-1. LC 2007004457.
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Saturn. ISBN 978-1-4296-0733-9. LC 2007004455.
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Uranus. ISBN 978-1-4296-0734-6. LC 2007004456.
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Venus. ISBN 978-1-4296-0739-1. LC 2007004457. ea vol: rev. ed. 24p. (Exploring the Galaxy Series). diags. illus. photos. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Capstone/Pebble Plus 2007. PLB $19.93.
Gr 1-2-In contrast to the “Astronomy Now!” series, Mars receives more careful treatment here, even though (like its eight series mates) it totals fewer than 160 words in length, plus back matter. Except that each volume opens with a schematic view of the planets circling an apple-red sun, the predominantly photographic illustrations in this series impart a good sense of what each planet looks like, both from a distance and (for those that have a surface) at ground level. With the exception of Pluto, these are almost imperceptibly revised from their 2003 editions.
ADAMSON, Thomas K. Uranus. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0730-8. LC 2007003538.KORTENKAMP, Steve The First Moon Landing ISBN 978-1-4296-0060-6. LC 2006100045.
KORTENKAMP, Steve. The Milky Way. ISBN 978-1-4296-0061-3. LC 2006100044.
KORTENKAMP, Steve. NASA. ISBN 978-1-4296-0062-0. LC 2006100079.
KORTENKAMP, Steve. Space Probes. ISBN 978-1-4296-0063-7. LC 2006100064.
KORTENKAMP, Steve. Space Stations ISBN 978-1-4296-0064-4. LC 2006100046
RICHARDSON, Adele Earth. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0720-9. LC 2007003526.
RICHARDSON, Adele. Jupiter. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0722-3. LC 2007003527.
RICHARDSON, Adele. Mars. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0723-0. LC 2007003529.
RICHARDSON, Adele. Mercury. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0724-7. LC 2007003525.
RICHARDSON, Adele. Saturn. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0728-5. LC 2007003536.
RICHARDSON, Adele. Venus. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0729-2. LC 2007003537.
WINRICH, Ralph. The Moon. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0725-4. LC 2007003528.
WINRICH, Ralph. Neptune. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0726-1. LC 2007003534.
WINRICH, Ralph. Pluto: A Dwarf Planet. rev. ed. updated by Thomas K. Adamson. ISBN 978-1-4296-0727-8. LC 2006037427.
WINRICH, Ralph. The Sun. rev. ed. ISBN 978-1-4296-0721-6. LC 2007003535. ea vol: 24p. (First Facts. The Solar System Series). charts. diags. illus. photos. reprods. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Capstone. 2007. PLB $21.26.
Gr 2-3-These titles are not only aimed at fledgling readers, but also expand the range of subjects with six volumes on Earth’s Moon, the Sun, the Milky Way, and topics in space exploration to supplement those for each of the planets, plus one devoted to Pluto that—rare at this reading level—repeatedly mentions the other dwarf planets Ceres and Eris. Information presented in the simply phrased narratives is supplemented by boxes of facts dubbed either “fast” or “fun” and sharply reproduced photos or other art.
CHRISMER, Melanie. Mars. ISBN 978-0-531-14697-2. LC 2006102769.CHRISMER, Melanie. The Moon. ISBN 978-0-531-14699-6. LC 2006102791.
CHRISMER, Melanie. Neptune. ISBN 978-0-531-14750-4. LC 2006102772.
CHRISMER, Melanie. The Sun ISBN 978-0-531-14753-5. LC 2006102775.
CHRISMER, Melanie. Venus. ISBN 978-0-531-14755-9. LC 2006102780.
TAYLOR-BUTLER, Christine. Earth. ISBN 978-0-531-14695-8. LC 2006102767.
TAYLOR-BUTLER, Christine. Jupiter. ISBN 978-0-531-14696-5. LC 2006102768.
TAYLOR-BUTLER, Christine. Mercury. ISBN 978-0-531-14698-9. LC 2006102771.
TAYLOR-BUTLER, Christine. Pluto: Dwarf Planet ISBN 978-0-531-14751-1. LC 2006102779.
TAYLOR-BUTLER, Christine. Saturn. ISBN 978-0-531-14752-8. LC 2006102773.
TAYLOR-BUTLER, Christine. Uranus. ISBN 978-0-531-14754-2. LC 2006102777. ea vol: updated ed. 24p. (Scholastic News Nonfiction Readers-Space Science Series). diags. illus. photos. reprods. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Children’s Press 2007. PLB $20. A
Gr 1-2-These titles, which were originally published in 2005, all feature an updated boilerplate map of the planets (except in Mars, where Pluto’s orbit is still visible) but only Pluto has undergone enough other revision to consider as a replacement. For libraries that don’t own them already, however, they make appealing choices for their colorful layouts, simple writing, and emergent-reader-friendly facts.
LANDAU, Elaine. Beyond Pluto. ISBN 978-0-531-12565-6. LC 2007012280.LANDAU, Elaine. Earth. ISBN 978-0-531-12558-8. LC 2007012278.
LANDAU, Elaine. Jupiter. ISBN 978-0-531-12559-5. LC 2007003869.
LANDAU, Elaine. Mars. ISBN 978-0-531-12560-1. LC 2007012260.
LANDAU, Elaine. Mercury. ISBN 978-0-531-12561-8. LC 2007012277.
LANDAU, Elaine. The Moon ISBN 978-0-531-12562-5. LC 2007004183.
LANDAU, Elaine. Neptune. ISBN 978-0-531-12563-2. LC 2007008257.
LANDAU, Elaine. Pluto: From Planet to Dwarf. ISBN 978-0-531-12566-3. LC 2007012279.
LANDAU, Elaine. Saturn. ISBN 978-0-531-12567-0. LC 2007004181.
LANDAU, Elaine. The Sun. ISBN 978-0-531-12568-7. LC 2007012259.
LANDAU, Elaine. Uranus. ISBN 978-0-531-12569-4. LC 2007012258.
LANDAU, Elaine. Venus. ISBN 978-0-531-12564-9. LC 2007004449. ea vol: 48p. (A True Book). diags. illus. photos. reprods. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Children’s Press 2007. PLB $26.
Gr 2-4-Featuring a new author and a colorful redesign, these volumes expertly update Larry Dane Brimner’s 1998 editions, and also add a title that looks past Pluto into the Kuiper Belt, the Oort Cloud, and the search for extrasolar planets. Each one matches a clearly reasoned, matter-of-fact text to plenty of small but sharply reproduced color photos and pages of new or restated facts, and rounded off with multimedia lists of audience-appropriate further resources. Despite minor bobbles (for instance, Landau assigns the space probe New Horizons different speeds in Pluto and Beyond Pluto), these remain the gold standard for post-picture-book nonfiction, and should be first purchases for any library that serves fledgling readers.
CLARK, Stuart Earth. ISBN 978-1-4329-0175-2. LC 2002004060.GOSS, Tim Jupiter. ISBN 978-1-4329-0164-6. LC number unavailable.
GOSS, Tim. Mars. ISBN 978-1-4329-0178-3. LC 2002000814.
GOSS, Tim. Mercury. ISBN 978-1-4329-0165-3. LC number unavailable.
GOSS, Tim. Saturn. ISBN 978-1-4329-0181-3. LC 2002000811.
GOSS, Tim. Venus. ISBN 978-1-4329-0184-4. LC 2002000812.
PRINJA, Raman K. Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors. ISBN 978-1-4329-0162-2. LC 2002004058.
PRINJA, Raman K.. The Moon ISBN 978-1-4329-0167-7. LC number unavailable.
PRINJA, Raman K.. The Outer Planets. ISBN 978-1-4329-0168-4. LC number unavailable.
PRINJA, Raman K.. Stars and Constellations. ISBN 978-1-4329-0170-7. LC number unavailable.
PRINJA, Raman K.. The Sun. ISBN 978-1-4329-0171-4. LC number unavailable. ea vol: rev. ed. unpaged. (The Universe Series). diags. illus. maps. photos. reprods. further reading. glossary. index. CIP. Heinemann Library. 2007. PLB $28.21.
Gr 3-5- Devoting all but one entry (Stars and Constellations) to the denizens of our solar system, “The Universe” bridges the gap between these primary-grade titles and more systematic treatments. With most of the planets and Earth’s Moon given separate volumes but Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris shoehorned together into The Outer Planets, the level of detail isn’t consistent throughout, but with several brief, separated passages of text beneath attention-getting headers (“How’s the weather on Saturn?” “Do comets ever crash?”) on each page, accompanying a informatively-captioned color photo or diagram, the presentation in each survey is designed for quick access to information.
SUMMARY: All of these titles are printed with acceptable clarity, and offer rudimentary indexes, glossaries, and, except for the Infosearch titles, leads to further print or Web resources. All libraries should consider the Pluto volumes as necessary purchases for their primary readers; for small collections that can afford but one, the “First Facts” is preferable for its slightly fuller coverage of the other dwarf planets. Selectors able to purchase in bulk should acquire that entire series to supplement the “True Books,” and consider the rest in light of their collection needs.
EDITOR'S NOTE: SLJ's editors are seeking viable and helpful solutions to help you sort out the number of series being published. Because all of these books arrived in our office the same week, we decided to send them to one reviewer and present them together. Let us know whether this approach is helpful, or if you have other suggestions for reviewing series nonfiction. Please email me at trjones@reedbusiness.com with your comments.—T.J.
