Traveler's Guide to the Solar System - Hardcover

Barnes-Svarney, Patricia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0806986727 ISBN 13: 9780806986722

Publisher: Union Square & Co., 1993

Synopsis

Takes the reader on a tour of the solar system, describing asteroids and each of the planets

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-The author of several books on earth science takes readers further afield, offering a series of quick visits to "some of the best-and some of the worst-places in our solar system." Stopping at each planet, plus selected moons, Barnes-Svarney focuses on extremes-the surface temperature of Venus, for instance, or Saturn's 1,000 mph winds-and unusual sights, such as Mimas's huge crater or the "Gumbly feature" on Venus. The illustrations, all photos from NASA and other space agencies, are reproduced in glowing colors, with some of the composites and false-color images noted as such. Despite a predeliction for exclamation points, the author's descriptions are clear and coherent. The picture captions are another story; two are switched, at least one contradicts a point made in the text, and another was apparently written for a different photo. Considering the recent proliferation of books on the planets, this one can be passed over. Buy another copy of Seymour Simon's Our Solar System (Morrow, 1992) instead.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. For better or for worse, the author of this guidebook to the solar system acts like a tour guide: often informative, a bit too fond of exclamation points, jocular without being really funny, and predictable by the end of the trip. With a chapter on each planet (except Earth) and its moons and one for the asteroid belt, the author continues the travel theme throughout, sometimes with absurd results: "Saturn's lower layers are under great pressure--close to 10 million times the pressures of the Earth. Can we stand them? Not without a very good space suit!" Excellent full-color photographs appear on nearly every page. While many better books are available on the solar system, larger libraries may want to have this on hand for those "How much would you weigh on Neptune?" and "How old would you be on Mercury?" assignments that come around from time to time. Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Union Square & Co.
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0806986727
• ISBN 13: 9780806986722
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 80