How We Learned the Earth Is Round (Let's Read and Find Out)

Explains various changes in humanity's beliefs about the shape of the earth, from the flat earth theories of the ancients to the round earth theories which were proven true by the voyages of Columbus and Magellan.

A timely offering to help prepare for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discoveries. Lauber explains in simple terms the various theories people have held about the shape of the Earth and how the ancient Greeks discovered the true shape of the Earth by observing ships at sea and eclipses of the moon. Lloyd's detailed drawings are a delight, but are too small to share successfully with a large group. Isaac Asimov's How Did We Find Out the Earth Is Round? (Walker, 1972) covers the same information for an older audience. Lauber's book is a good complement to Branley's Sunshine Makes the Seasons (1985) and What Makes Night and Day (1986, both Crowell) for making the Earth and its movements comprehensible to children. --Eunice Weech, M. L. King Elementary School, Urbana, IL
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