Ten Worlds: Everything That Orbits the Sun [Hardcover]

Ken Croswell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2006 | Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up

This book is revised to expand on the Pluto Controversy. To give young readers the science behind the headlines, astronomer Ken Croswell has revised the acclaimed Ten Worlds - the most substantial and beautiful children's book about the solar system. Pluto is demoted and astronomers revolt! In 2006, hundreds of astronomers voted that icy Pluto was not a planet. But hundreds of other astronomers signed a petition refusing to recognize that vote. Is Pluto just an oversized comet - too small to be a planet? Or does it deserve the status it has had for seventy-six years? Tenth Planet is discovered! Ten Worlds is the only children's book with the full story of the tenth world, Eris. Its discovery in 2005 rekindled the old dispute about Pluto and triggered the controversial vote. Eris is bigger than Pluto. If Pluto is a planet, isn't Eris one, too? Croswell informs readers about the discovery of Eris and the long-running argument about what makes a planet. Also in Ten Worlds, you find: large, lavish photographs, the latest on each of the planets and the seven biggest moons in the solar system.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8–This oversize book has beautiful, full-color photographs of the planets, moons, and sun in our solar system. Each planet's origin, geography, and history are discussed. The photographs, many of them encompassing an entire page, are of superior quality and set against a black backdrop. The text, done in a fairly large font set against color backgrounds, is easy to read. Students with little to no background in the subject will find this book enjoyable and easy to understand. This slim, authoritative volume has plenty of information for reports and may spark an interest in finding additional resources.–Linda Wadleigh, Haymon-Morris Middle School, Winder, GA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. Author-astronomer Croswell, who has written extensively on space topics for adults, follows his children's-book debut, See the Stars (2000), with a striking, large-format overview of the solar system. In topical spreads illustrated with luminous, digitally retouched images, many taken on NASA missions, each of the 10 planets orbiting our sun (the still-controversial tenth is an unnamed space object discovered in 2005) is considered in turn. Other entries cover the asteroid belt, meteors, and the birth of the solar system. Croswell's inconsistent writing is disappointing. For every lucid formulation, such as the description of an asteroid as a "leftover building block of a planet like Earth," there are instances of too-casual language ("What's really neat is [Mars'] color"), and the text-heavy appearance of many pages may put off less confident readers. However, the up-to-date information and majestic high-tech visuals on glossy black pages will give Seymour Simon's Our Solar System (1992) a run for its money. Appended tables of facts and figures provide additional fodder for the space obsessed. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Pr (May 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590784235
• ISBN-13: 978-1590784235
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,354,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Publishers Weekly--starred review, June 21, 2006

By 

reader (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ten Worlds: Everything That Orbits the Sun (Hardcover)

On the basis of its striking design and photographs, this handsome, large-format volume is well worthy of praise. And astronomer Croswell's (See the Stars) concise yet conversational, information-packed text wins it sky-high accolades in the narrative sphere as well. As the author takes readers on an elucidating tour of the solar system--traveling outwards from the sun--brilliantly colored photos of each planet and of their moons (mostly NASA shots) pop dramatically from a black background, while the text appears against pastel-toned panels. Croswell authoritatively explains the physical characteristics, temperature and atmospheric makeup of the planets; tells how they were named; examines comets, meteors and asteroids; and details the knowledge gleaned from spacecrafts' photographs and specific astronomers' discoveries. He confidently puts forth his own theories (he believes in the theory that an asteroid killed off the dinosaurs and allowed other forms of life to evolve, including humans). Timely references to recently launched spacecraft and their missions, and an intriguing look at "the tenth planet" (discovered in 2005, the planet takes 559 years to orbit the sun), attest to the book's relevance. Colorful, accessible analogies abound: remarking that stars shine during the day as well as the night, yet are washed out by sunlight, Croswell notes, "In the same way, you can't hear a soft flute when a loud car goes by." Concluding with charts that handily round up statistics about the planets and their moons, this eye-opening book will feed kids' curiosity about the worlds beyond earth. Ages 6-up.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Astronomy Book for Young Readers, July 11, 2006

By 

Charles J. Rector (Woodstock, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ten Worlds: Everything That Orbits the Sun (Hardcover)

In 2005, for the first time since 1930, a new planet was discovered. Suddenly, all sorts of classroom materials pertaining to the solar system were obsolete.

Ten Worlds is a book that introduces young readers to this new planet as well as the other 9 planets and the moons that orbit them. He includes the latest discoveries about these worlds.
For instance, Croswell relates how Neptune's moon Triton is the only moon in the solar system that orbits its planet clockwise. Also that the planet Saturn is so light that it would float in water and that billions of years ago, Mars had flowing water.

The book is replete with excellent illustrations and has chapters covering other aspects of the solar system such as asteroids, meteors and comets. The book is very well written and has several informative charts.

This is a must book for all public school libraries as well as parents who home school their children.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing guide to fantastic places, June 13, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ten Worlds: Everything That Orbits the Sun (Hardcover)

Ten Worlds: Everything That Orbits The Sun comers from a Harvard-trained astronomer who provides an intriguing guide to fantastic places. Here the most exciting sights of our solar system are captured with vivid color photos and high drama, from the Sun to Pluto and beyond, to the latest 10th planet discovery. Text provides details suitable for beginning reports but it's the color photos which are the real eye-catcher for grades 3-5.