“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
BOOK REVIEW
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)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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