Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei [Paperback]

If they had seen what we see, they would have judged as we judge. -- Galileo Galilei

In every age there are courageous people who break with tradition to explore new ideas and challenge accepted truths. Galileo Galilei was just such a man--a genius--and the first to turn the telescope to the skies to map the heavens. In doing so, he offered objective evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe but that it and all the other planets revolved around the sun. Galileo kept careful notes and made beautiful drawings of all that he observed. Through his telescope he brought the starts down to earth for everyone to see.

By changing the way people saw the galaxy, Galileo was also changing the way they saw themselves and their place in the universe. This was very exciting, but to some to some it was deeply disturbing. Galileo has upset the harmonious view of heaven and earth that had been accepted since ancient times. He had turned the world upside down.

In this amazing new book, Peter S?s employs the artist's lens to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. S?s tells his story in language as simple as a fairy tale, in pictures as rich and tightly woven as a tapestry, and in Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago and still resonant with truth. This title has Common Core connections.

Starry Messengeris a 1997 Caldecott Honor Book.

1. In the opening pages of Starry Messenger Peter S?s shows the names of several men on a time line: Eudoxus, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Aristarchus, Archimedes, and Copernicus. Discuss with your students what sources they would use to find out more about these men. They could include nonfiction books about these men, astronomy, and the ancient world; the encyclopedia; the Internet; etc. Develop the idea that since nonfiction books do not have to be read from cover to cover or necessarily in the order that the chapters are written, they should consider anlƒ½