Customer Reviews (1)

Disappointed!
I am very disappointed in MILKY WAY & MARS BARS: ASTRONOMY FOR KIDS!I am keeping the book because the glossary is useful, but the quality and format of the book is not appealing or effective in teaching children about astronomy. I was intrigued by the clever title of the book, but disapointed with its contents. ... Read more

Book Description
Why do planets spin? How hot is the Sun? What keeps the Moon in orbit around the Earth? What are Saturn's rings made of? What's a black hole in space? Now you can discover the answers to these and other fascinating questions about basic astronomy. In Astronomy for Every Kid you'll learn about the constellations using a shoe box planetarium. You'll chart the movement of the stars with nothing but a string, a marker, and a nail. And you'll use a toy magnet to simulate the Earth's protective force field. Each of the 101 experiments is broken down into its purpose, a list of materials, step-by-step instructions, expected results, and an easy to understand explanation. Every activity has been pretested and can be performed safely and inexpensively in the classroom or at home. Also available in this series from Janice VanCleave: Biology for Every Kid Chemistry for Every Kid Dinosaurs for Every Kid Earth Science for Every Kid Geography for Every Kid Geometry for Every Kid The Human Body for Every Kid Math for Every Kid Physics for Every Kid ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

I wish I hadn't bought this...
This book is a big disappointment. I don't know very much about astronomy, but I have done a lot of experiments with my kids. The better experiments in this collection are basic scientific experiments we have done before with a page of explanation on how it relates to astronomy...or how it is a simulation of something in astronomy, which I feel is misleading to the kids.

Other experiments are not even experiments, but demonstrations of things so obvious that most kids can visualize them without a demonstration. For example, stirring tea leaves in a jar with a pencil to simulate a hurricane on Jupiter.

Only one experiment sounded interesting--a sun dial that can act as a compass. But wait! The compass is only accurate two days out of the year, and there is no explanation of the science behind the experiment.

I want my money back!!!!

Absolutely Wonderful!
As a mom who home-schools her kids, this book has been invaluable for keeping the fun and interest in teaching Astronomy. Janice VanCleave's book have been a great assest to our library.

Packed with errors.
This book looks like it tried too hard to be about astronomy. It takes reasonable experiments about basic scientific principles and tacks on explanations related to astronomy that ignore other factors (i.e. both reflectivity and distance from the sun are seperately listed as the reason a planet is hotter when Venus is neither the darkest nor the closest), are overly obscure, or just plain wrong (appearance of 'the man in the moon' caused by shadows).

I have worked in an astronomy museum for six years, and this book has me pausing to try and comprehend what the book is trying to do. I am not familiar with the other Janice VanCleave books, but I specifically recommend AGAINST this one. ... Read more

Book Description
These experiments teach readers how to measure the angle and attitude of the sun and stars, measure the diameter of the sun and moon, determine time and location from the sky, make maps of the stars and constellations, classify stars by temperature, use refracting and reflecting telescopes, photograph star tracks, and much more. Wood even provides instructions for building an astrolabe, sundial, cross-staff, spectroscope, sky clock, and other simple instruments. ... Read more

Product Description
Four book set:*Janice VanCleave's Constellations for Every Kid: Easy Activities that Make Learning Science Fun*Janice VanCleave's Earth Science, for Every Kid: Easy Activities that Make Learning Science Fun *Janice VanCleave's Astronomy, for Every Kid: Easy Activities that Make Learning Science Fun*Janice VanCleave's Chemistry for Every Kid: Easy Activities that Make Learning Science Fun"Exciting ideas, projects, and activities for schools, science fairs, and just plain fun!" ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Science News for Kids, published by Thomson Gale on April 18, 2007. The length of the article is 1362 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Unearthing ancient astronomy.
Author: Julie J. Rehmeyer
Publication: Science News for Kids (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 18, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

Take a trip around our solar system, Find out how Pluto was named, See amazing snapshots from space & Learn more than forty fun facts about our universe

Level 2 includes longer sentences with richer vocabulary, type set line to line to aid readability, varied photographic treatments, and brief chapters with simple illustrated diagrams and a glossary.

Special features include How Big?, Take a Close Look, Did You Know?, Words to Know, Fun Facts and full color photographs, as well as a full page, simply labeled diagram showing body parts.

Ages 6+

Book Description
Where can you find Leo the lion?

How can you bring a constellation into your room?

What are the oldest stars?

How did the Milky Way Galaxy get its name?

Now you can explore the answers to these and other questions in Janice VanCleave's Constellations for Every Kid. Find the constellations Draco, Libra, Hydra, Hercules, and many more from your own backyard. Make a star disk that can track star movements. Find out what a balloon can tell us about stars. With activities like making an astronomer's flashlight and a shoebox planetarium, Janice VanCleave's Constellations for Every Kid will have you reaching for the stars.

Each of the activities begins with a statement of purpose, followed by a list of materials, step-by-step instructions, expected results, and an easy-to-understand explanation. Every activity has been pretested and can be performed safely and inexpensively at home or in the classroom.

Also available in this series from Janice VanCleave:

• ASTRONOMY FOR EVERY KID
• BIOLOGY FOR EVERY KID
• CHEMISTRY FOR EVERY KID
• DINOSAURS FOR EVERY KID
• EARTH SCIENCE FOR EVERY KID
• ECOLOGY FOR EVERY KID
• GEOGRAPHY FOR EVERY KID
• GEOMETRY FOR EVERY KID
• THE HUMAN BODY FOR EVERY KID
• MATH FOR EVERY KID
• OCEANS FOR EVERY KID
• PHYSICS FOR EVERY KID

Customer Reviews (4)

A great book to start : kids or adults alike !!
I like this book because it gives only a couple important concepts in each chapter, therefore, makes it easier to learn without feeling overwhelmed. I also like how some important concepts are explained using concrete examples. For instance, the concept of "parallax (the apparent shift in position of an object when viewed from different places)" is explained in such a way that everyone can easily relates to "To understand ......palce your thumb near your nose, then look at it, closing one eye at a time. Your thumb seems to jump from side to side as you see a different background behind it. Stars, like your thumb, seem to move when viewed from differt positions."

I agree with other reviews that a brief story about each constellation will better fit the title of this book.

useful but limited
Janice VanCleave's "Constellations For Every Kid" is one of the books I used to teach an astronomy unit to the boys I help homeschool.It is quite limited in its scope -- containing only the northern constellations and no complete star maps -- but is very useful for basic constellation identification.I used it mostly as a source of seasonal star maps for the boys to copy.It also helpfully identifies some key stars in various constellations, and provides tips for finding various constellations once the positions of others are known.

However, this is about all the book is good for.The explanations of various phenomena are extremely limited, VanCleave provides none of the legends behind the constellations, and her suggested questions and activities are often impractical or pointless.(She also turned Saggitarius into some unholy thing she dubbed 'The Teapot.'Sheesh.)The book wavers between being a teacher's handbook and a student's textbook -- and fills neither purpose very well.

In other words, don't buy it.Skim through it and take any useful activities and explanations, but don't be too disappointed if you come away with only a few ideas.

Not what I hoped
This book is almost entirely about finding specific constellations in the sky.If that's what you want, then it's for you.It is not about constellations in general, nor does it have star stories.It only has afew "activities."I bought it to use in my classroom, buthaven't touched it.I have to wonder why I bought it, because I have thesame opinion of Janice VanCleave's books....they look good, but there isn'tall that much substance. I just had a weak moment!This one is worse thanusual.

Great book
My 7 year old daughter and I have had a great time with Constellations For Every Kid. Each chapter provides a "bite size" chunk of information, a stargazing opportunity, questions to reinforce what wastaught, and an astronomy-related activity. Other strong points includesimple but quality illustrations and helpful pronunciation guides. The bookcovers topics like the general motion of the sky, precession, ecliptic,variable stars, spectral types, folklore, as well as the names of the starsand consteallations clearly, with enough depth to be interesting but not somuch detail as to be overwhelming. In short, My daughter may not rememberall the specifics but she's getting the basic ideas and we're having fun inthe process. ... Read more

Book Description
Experience the force of liftoff

• Create your own constellations
• Write a postcard from another planet
• Make a club-soda comet, and more!

From rocketing out of Earth's gravity and orbiting our planet to probing other planets and walking on the Moon, Cosmic Science makes exploring space a blast! More than 40 easy, safe—and fun—activities show how rockets work, why the shape of the Moon seems to change, just how much power the Sun has, what it's like to live and work in space, and much more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great for Educators
As a new teacher, I am a firm believer of hands-on activities; as the saying goes, "I do, and I understand."While beginning a unit on space, I wanted to make it as concrete as I could, and my kids are now ableto understand some very abstract concepts - thanks to the activities inthis book.Most of these activities can be modified for students of alllevels; for higher-level students, teachers could get into inertia, airpressure,... My kids really loved the activity that proves how rocketswork.All of the activites use materials that you already have at home. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Most of the activities in this book on Galileo are really scientific experiments
The only real complaint about "Galileo for Kids: His Life and Ideas, 25 Activities," is that I doubt there is a teacher in the country who would spend long enough on the famous scientist to do all of these activities.If they got to double figures that would be pretty impressive, but also somewhat doubtful.However, there are certainly some choice activities in this book by Richard Panchyk (Buzz Aldrin does the foreword) that will not only get young students interested in the life of Galileo but also fan their interest in the sciences.

This book makes it clear that while he is best known as an astronomer, Galileo was a genius who enjoyed science, mathematics, music, and art, and someone who sough the truth and believed there was no substitute for observation and experimentation.Despite being forced by the Church to recant his discovery that the sun was the center of the universe, Panchyk makes it clear that Galileo believed both science and religion help us to know ourselves.After a Timeline that begins with a new star being observed by the Chinese in 1054 to Galileo being reburied with proper honors in 1737, and a map of Italy, this book turns to Science and Astronomy Before Galileo, to set up how important he was in changing things.Astronomers including Peter Apian, Nicolaus Copernicus and Tycho Brahe are covered, as well as the Comet of 1577.The activities here include making initial lunar observations and how to use raw data, so you can see there is an initial focus on scientific metrology.

The second chapter details the Beginnings of Galileo's life, where you not only get to cook a renaissance meal (meatballs and pea soup), but also get to make a pendulum and pulsilogia.In chapter 3, Position at Pisa, Galileo began his career as a scientist.There are also sidebars on Dante, Johannes Kepler, and the Medicis so the religious, scientific and political contexts of the time are covered as well.Activities include not only the famous gravity experiment, put also the properties of the ellipse and the second part of lunar observation.The Telescope is the focus of the next chapter, which includes an aperture experiment and the floating needle experiment.

The Storm Builds is the subject of chapter five, signifying the coming collision between Galileo's science and the religion of the day.Here the activities are the perception of illumination and the mathematical problem represented by the roll of the dice (plus making a care package for Galileo because of the plague).Chapter six covers The Two Systems, with experiments on relative motion and projective motion.However, most of these chapters tell the story of what happened when Galileo was called before the Inquisition.Galileo's Last Days are covered in the last chapter, along with experiments on accelerated motion and charting the cycloid curve. The look at the life and times of Galileo is pretty strong to begin with, so when you add the activities and see that the vast majority of them are practical scientific experiments, then you have to be even more impressed.In fact, I could be wrong: I can now see a teacher breaking up the class into lots of groups and having them do different activities and sharing the results with their classmates, so getting to double figures could be pretty easy (although making meatballs can be seen as being practical too, since kids have to eat).

Throughout the book there are illustrations of the people, places and things in Galileo's life, many of which are contemporary to his time.The back of the book includes several pages of Resources.There are lists of the Popes and Grand Dukes of Tuscany during Galileo's time, a Glossary of Key Terms from "abjuration" to "volume," Key People from Peter and Philip Apian to Vincenzo Viviani, and Key Places from Arcetri to Venice.A list of Galileo's key writings is provided, along with some web sites specific to his life and works, and there is also a list of Planetariums an Astronomy/Space Museums to be found in fourteen states and the District of Columbia.If you are not tired you can also check out the Selected Bibliography before we finally get to the Index.

The final thing that needs to be said is that this is but one volume in the For Kids series.There are over a dozen volumes that I know about for sure.The one's under "A" consist of "Africa for Kids," "American Folk Art for Kids," "The American Revolution for Kids," and "Archaeology for Kids."Those four titles along should give you a good idea of the scope of the series.So teachers might only use a couple of activities from this book, but they can do the same for units on Leonardo da Vinci, Lewis and Clark, the Civil Rights Movement, and know that Chicago Review Press will be adding volumes to this wonderful series for some time to come. ... Read more

Book Description
If you go outside on a clear night, you can't help yourself. Your head tilts back, your eyes rise up, and you find yourself gazing at the stars . . . WOW! From the beginning of time, people have admired the night sky's beauty.The night sky is our oldest picture book, and Wishing on a Star retells some of these stories from around the world in simple language that kids can understand. Wishing on a Star also includes lots of fun activities that celebrate the stars. Learn how to make a twinkling thaumatrope, fly a starry kite, and act in your own constellation play. Star maps and stargazing tips show how to find the constellations, and cool science facts teach more about the stars.Paperback, Full-Color Illustrations Throughout, Ages 7 and up ... Read more

Book Description
The New York Public Library amazing space

Travel to distant galaxies and explore awesome constellations. Discover mysterious planets and catch a comet by the tail. Find the answers to your questions about the wonders of space . . .

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY's best-selling reference books include The New York Public Library Desk Reference, The New York Public Library Book of Answers, and The New York Public Library Student's Desk Reference. ANN-JEANETTE CAMPBELL is the coauthor of The New York Public Library Incredible Earth.

Also in this series . . . The New York Public Library Incredible Earth ... Read more

Book Description
Our Solar System:An easy, practical book to understand the planets in our Solar System.

Written especially for kids to learn about science and nature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

what a disappointment
This book has ALL black and white pictures, and looks like it was printed off of someone's dot-matrix printer. Plus, it names Pluto as a planet, and doesn't mention Ceres and Eris at all. Now I'm ordering "Our Solar System (revised edition)" by Seymour Simon because at least I know there will be 8 planets and full-color pictures! Don't waste your money on this one. I'm returning mine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Crafts for Kids Who Are Wild About Outer Space
Finally a crafts book geared to boys (and girls).My son loves space flight, planets and aliens.This book provides tips for crafts in allthree areas.This is the first crafts book I found, for young children,that is geared towards girls and boys.The crafts are easy to do and usecommon household items. ... Read more