The Librarian Who Measured the Earth

THE LIBRARIAN WHO MEASURED THE EARTH
Written by Kathryn Lasky
Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
(Little, Brown, 1994)

Category: Picture book biography

I re-read this favorite in honor of the Year of Science and its January theme of ‘Process and the Nature of Science’. Truth be told, I first read a number of books that tackle this theme in a straightforward manner, books for young readers that list the steps of the scientific method and define bold-print words like theory, experiment, and conclusion. As important as these books are, they just didn’t inspire a blog post.

THE LIBRARIAN WHO MEASURED THE EARTH, however, represents an entirely different approach to exploring the nature of science, one that gets me itching to blog: story. To get a better understanding of how one might tackle the enormous task of measuring the circumference of the earth, Lasky and Hawkes share the story of Eratosthenes, the Greek scholar who was the first man to do so. Readers learn the process he used (ingenius!), but they also learn about the boy he was (curious), the man he became (intense), the time he lived in (books were printed by hand, one at a time, on papyrus scrolls) and the success of his study (recent calculations reveal Eratosthenes’ estimated circumference—calculated two thousand years ago—was off by only two hundred miles). All this in a forty-eight page picture book!

For more books about the process and nature of science, check out the archives at Open Wide, Look Inside, a blog “about teaching elementary math, science and socials studies, with heavy emphasis on the integration of children’s literature across the curriculum.” Tricia Stohr-Hunt and her students consistently serves up thoughtful posts on excellent books.

You will also find an eclectic selection of blog posts on children’s nonfiction today (and every Monday!) at the Nonfiction Monday roundup, hosted today at Anastasia Suen’s Picture Book of the Day blog.

Happy Reading!

Happy Year of Science!

 

Year of Science 2009

Teachers and parents take note: 2009 is the Year of Science!

Several organizations have joined forces to create a vehicle through which to generate excitement about science. The project is massive, as far as I can tell, and there are an overwhelming number of ways for any one person to participate.

Firstly, you can visit the Year of Science website. It is a portal to all sorts of information on science, why it is important, how it is practiced, who practices it, and how you can be more involved in it. One of the cooler gems I stumbled across while wandering around there was the Flat Stanley Project, a simple idea with an amazing ability to help students explore worlds beyond their classroom. (The project was inspired, of course, by the Flat Stanley books.)

The organizers have also created a separate website dedicated to fostering a better public understanding of science. Although the Understanding Science website doesn’t officially launch until later this week, you can see a preview here. Teacher resources seem plentiful and I look forward to exploring this site more when it launches.

Finally, the twelve months of the Year of Science have been assigned themes:

January: Process & Nature of Science
February: Evolution
March: Physics & Technology
April: Energy Resources
May: Sustainability and the Environment
June: Oceans & Water
July: Astronomy
August: Weather and Climate
September: Biodiversity and Conservation
October: Geosciences & Planet Earth
November: Chemistry
December: Science and Healthy

In thinking of ways that I might join the celebration, I have decided to adjust my reading for the year. I’d like to explore these topics each month through the books I read, and I will share the best of them here on my blog.

So, dear readers, go forth and celebrate science. I’m off to the library in search of books about its nature and process!