Dyson's Review of Galileo's Universe

Dyson's Review of Galileo's Universe

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Review of Look to the Stars by Buzz Aldrin, illustrated by Wendell Minor

Title: Galileo’s Universe

Author: J. Patrick Lewis

Illustrator: Tom Curry, with paper engineering by Bruce Foster

Ages: 9-12

Format: hardback pop-up

Pages: 18

Publisher: Creative Editions

Date: October 2005

Retail Price: $24.95

ISBN: 01568461836

Reviewed by: Marianne Dyson, November 2009

While checking for books to recommend to students as part of the 400th

anniversary of Galileo’s use of the telescope in 1609, I discovered a simply

amazing pop-up book published in 2005. Galileo’s Universe by J. Patrick Lewis

with illustrations by Tom Curry and paper engineering by Bruce Foster is a

delight to read and filled with fascinating pull-tabs and moving parts.

The book opens with a brief overview of Galileo’s place in history as the man

who challenged the Catholic Church’s belief that the Earth was at the center of

the universe. Galileo used observation and experiment to prove that the Earth

revolves around the sun. He is also credited with either inventing or improving

many devices for measuring time, temperature, position, and composition of

objects.

The poems on each of seven spreads discuss major events and accomplishments in

Galileo’s life. The pop-ups focus on his timing of the swings of a pendulum, his

invention of a hydrostatic balance, the proof that objects fall at the same rate

regardless of weight, his invention of a thermometer, work with trajectories,

his use of the telescope, his problems with the church, and his place in

history.

While rhyming text can be fun for young children, the rhymes in this book

sometimes resulted in sentences with unnatural rhythms and words chosen for

their end sound rather than their meaning. For example,

“At twenty-two, he blazed a trail

With his true hydrostatic scale

To measure weights and metals with—

A blessing for the silversmith.”

However, a plain prose explanation is included on the pull-out tab below this

page (and similarly on others): “Soon after leaving the University of Pisa in

1586 without a degree, Galileo invented the hydrostatic balance, a device that

could determine the proportion of previous metal (such as gold or silver) in an

object by weighing it in water.” (My sources say that he left the university in

1585.)

The tower of Pisa pop-up shows one large and one small ball hitting the ground

together, which is an important thing to illustrate to children. However, the

explanation about why the two balls land together is not provided. The reason is

that gravity pulls on all objects equally, regardless of weight or size. The

reason why we expect (and depending on the shape and size, we observe) a wooden

ball or a feather to fall more slowly than a lead ball is because of air

resistance. (Parents—try dropping a flat sheet of paper and one crunched up—they

weigh the same but fall at different rates. Then try dropping two identical

containers, one empty and one full—they weigh different amounts, but fall at the

same rate.)

The chronology on the last page contains some dates that did not match with

other sources I checked. I could not confirm that he “secretly admits to being a

firm believer in the theories of Copernicus” in 1597 (my sources say 1604).

Three dates appear to be off by a year: warned by the church in 1616 (my source

says 1615); a test of a device for measuring longitude at sea in 1616 (my source

says 1617), and is blind in 1638 (my source says 1637). This is a good example

of why teachers require students to check facts against multiple sources!

The illustrations and pop-ups are truly outstanding, making the opening of each

spread something to be done again and again. The art style is reminiscent of

paintings from that era, and gives the book a timeless quality.

Galileo’s Universe does a good job of introducing this historical figure to a

new generation of creative inventors in a format that will stimulate 3-D

thinking and encourage them to observe and experiment to learn more about the

universe.

I took off one point for letting poetry take priority over meaning and for uncertainty about the dates. Total: 5 points. Recommended. Galileo’s Universe is a wonderfully creative biography of one of humanity’s most important scientists.