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THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE SKY

Name: THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE SKY
Author: Steve Zeitlin
ISBN: 0-8050-4816-2

CREATION STORIES AND COSMOLOGIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

by Steve Zeitlin & illustrated by Chris Raschka ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2000

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“One person’s religion is often another’s mythology,” writes the author. He could have added “or science,” because into this study of how diverse cultures have explained or interpreted the universe he folds chapters on both European cosmology from Ptolemy to Galileo, and on the Big Bang and string theory. Interspersing briefly told creation myths printed in a different typeface, he begins with views of Earth and Sky as Man and Woman (Maori and ancient Egyptian). In a chapter titled “Something out of Nothing,” he pairs the origin of the Greek gods and the first part of Genesis. Next he goes on to summarize cyclical views (Hindu, Norse), the heliocentric theory challenged by Copernicus and Kepler, the cosmos as a woman (Jain), a mirror (Haitian Vodou), a series of animal images, even, for a small Amazonian group, a brain. Finally, as “The Cosmic Egg,” ancient Chinese and modern scientific scenarios. Raschka opens each chapter with a design drawn from an appropriate culture’s artifacts. Zeitlin not only puts the scientific study of the cosmos into an unusual context (carefully pointing out the essential difference between telling stories, and actually testing them), he draws fascinating comparisons throughout, then closes with enthusiastic notes on sources and further reading. The result is a thought-provoking companion to Virginia Hamilton’s more story-oriented In the Beginning (1988). (bibliography) (Nonfiction. 11-14)

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2000

ISBN: 0-8050-4816-2

Page Count: 132

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
WHILE STANDING ON ONE FOOT
by Nina Jaffe & Steve Zeitlin & illustrated by John Segal

A REALLY SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING

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A REALLY SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING

by Bill Bryson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2009

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In this abridged and illustrated version of his Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), Bryson invites a younger crowd of seekers on a tour of time, space and science—from the Big Bang and the birth of the solar system to the growth and study of life on Earth. The single-topic spreads are adorned with cartoon portraits of scientists, explorers and (frequently) the author himself, which go with small nature photos and the occasional chart or cutaway view. Though occasionally subject to sweeping and dubious statements—“There’s no chance we could ever make a journey through the solar system”—Bryson makes a genial guide (“for you to be here now, trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to come together in a complicated and obliging manner to create you”), and readers with even a flicker of curiosity in their souls about Big Ideas will come away sharing his wonder at living in such a “fickle and eventful universe.” (index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-385-73810-1

Page Count: 176

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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MONSTER MATH

by Anne Miranda & illustrated by Anne Miranda ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1999

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Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)