Discover Space Rocks. (Kids Can Read, Level 3). Cynthia Pratt Nicolson. Illustrated by Bill Slavin. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2006. 32 pp., pbk. & cl., $5.95 (pbk.), $14.95 (cl.). ISBN 1-55337-901-2 (pbk.), ISBN 1-55337-900-4 (cl.). Subject Headings: Comets-Juvenile literature. Asteroids-Juvenile literature. Meteorites-Juvenile literature. Grades 1-4 / Ages 6-9. Review by Lisa O'Hara. **** /4

excerpt:

What are comets made of?

Comets are made of ice and dust. The core of a comet is like a huge, dirty snowball.

When a comet gets near the Sun, a large cloud forms around its core. Wind from the Sun pushes on this cloud to make the comet's long tail. Some comets have more than one tail.

Discover Space Rocks, written by Cynthia Pratt Nicolson and illustrated by Bill Slavin, teaches children about comets, asteroids and meteorites. The book is divided into four chapters between 4 and 10 pages long. Although the language is a little difficult for early readers, most of the long words are related to the topic – "asteroid", "telescope", "earthquakes", etc. Much of the book is written in a question and answer format, with the questions in bold and the answers in the paragraph or paragraphs underneath. This format seems particularly well-suited to children in this age range and allows them to get a lot of information in an easily accessible manner.

     The author includes a "Facts" section at the end of the chapters. These facts are actually interesting trivia giving some extra information about the topic for the reader. This is probably the section that children will be telling parents and teachers about! An example from the "Meteorite Facts" section:

A dog was hit by a meteorite that fell in 1911. Scientists figured out that the meteorite had come all the way from Mars.

     The text is illustrated with photos of space rocks and the earth, diagrams (showing how the comet's tail is formed for example), and watercolors. Each page contains an illustration of some sort and lots of white space to make reading easier. This format makes the book very appealing to early readers.

Highly Recommended.

Lisa O'Hara is a librarian and mother of three in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

NEXT REVIEW |TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - May 26, 2006.

AUTHORS | TITLES | MEDIA REVIEWS | PROFILES | BACK ISSUES | SEARCH | CMARCHIVE | HOME