About Time: A First Look at Time and Clocks - Hardcover

Koscielniak, Bruce

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618396683 ISBN 13: 9780618396689

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2004

Synopsis

Time to read a book.
Time to wash dishes.
Time to do this or that.

You say things like this every day, all the time. But there was a time when time itself was undefined—no one knew the difference between a minute, an hour, or a day.
Then people started creating tools to measure time. First they used the big stuff around them—the sun, the moon, water. Soon after, using the knowledge they got from their natural time-telling tools, people began to build clocks—huge clocks unlike the ones we use today. They also used their knowledge of the sun and moon to create calendars made up of months and years.
Now, centuries later, we have clocks all around us. We can easily figure out how long a month is. But it took many years of tinkering and inventing to perfect the art of telling time. You could take a few moments now to read all about time. If you have a minute, that is. This title has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades 4-5, Informational Texts)

About this title

About the Author

Bruce Koscielniak is the author and illustrator of several books for children; he is also a musician who has played the violin and jazz guitar for many years. He lives in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts.

Reviews

Grade 3-5–Describing the concept of time and how it has been measured, Koscielniak gives an instructive yet entertaining march through the ages. A two-page explanation of daytime versus nighttime, as well as the seasons, sets the stage for the beginning of timekeeping and the origins of the Gregorian calendar. The author provides just enough detail for readers to understand how sundials and water clocks work and to comprehend the problems with their accuracy. Attractive watercolor illustrations in green and tan tones enhance the text. Detailed diagrams further explain such concepts as Huygens's balance spring, which later developed into the portable watch. Endpapers show various timepieces through the ages from an Egyptian shadow clock in 1500 B.C. to electric clocks in A.D. 2000. Children will be entertained as well as informed by this presentation.–Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gr. 2-5. The author-illustrator of Johann Gutenberg and the Amazing Printing Press (2003) now presents an introduction to time and the history of timekeeping. The discussion begins with the meanings of terms such as day, month, and year and the development of the calendar in Western civilization. After explaining the use of early devices for marking time, such as sundials, water clocks, and hourglasses, the book traces the advancing technology of mechanical clocks from the thirteenth century onward and briefly explains twentieth-century advances such as quartz and atomic clocks. The ending briefly acknowledges three theories of time, from the ancient Greeks to Einstein. Brightening every page is watercolor artwork: clear diagrams of astronomical relationships, stylized historical scenes, sketchy (occasionally awkward) portrayals of people, and excellent pictures of clock mechanisms, which, in conjunction with the text, enlighten readers as to how the "workings" actually work. Students beyond the "telling time" stage will find this an attractive introduction to the broader subject of time. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0618396683
• ISBN 13: 9780618396689
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32