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More than 2,500 years ago, the Greeks looked upward and
tried to understand what they saw. Other cultures studied
the heavens, too; Ptolemy tried to count the stars, and
stopped at a thousand. In recent years, we’ve learned more
about the cosmos than ever before, but there’s still so much
we don’t know.
To study the stars, you need to understand light and
physics. You’ll need to know about galaxies and Nebulas,
which look different and have descriptive names. You’ll want
to find out the truth about black holes, and why you never,
ever want to be “spaghettified.”
And above all, says Tyson, stay in school, learn math, and
go for the best education you can get. Even if you don’t end
up studying stars, that’s always a good path to take.
I was pleasantly surprised and a little daunted, both, by
Explore the Cosmos like Neil deGrasse Tyson.
The delight comes in the biography part of this book. Author
CAP Saucier lets us explore the life of Neil deGrasse Tyson,
from his childhood to his fascinating career today and what
he thinks about the future of space exploration. Along the
way, we’re given an education on the universe and what’s in
it.
That part, however, can be formidable; the language is more
advanced than I would have liked to see in a book for
middle-graders. Kids who tackle those sections will need a
better-than-average understanding of astroscience, since
those pages aren’t otherwise very kid-friendly.
I think maybe a science-loving nine-year-old could try this
book but it’s really better-suited for someone older. For a
sharp child with her head in the stars, Explore the
Cosmos like Neil deGrasse Tyson is pretty cosmic. |
