Zodiac: Celestial Circle of the Sun (Hardcover)

by Jacqueline Mitton (Author), Christina Balit (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: celestial equator

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4–Mitton covers the 12 well-known constellations belonging to the Zodiac, beginning with a brief introduction that is followed by a spread devoted to each of the signs. More for browsing than for research and reports, the information gives readers some preliminary scientific and historical facts. References are made to the role that the ancient civilizations of the Middle East and later Greece played in creating the mythology around the Zodiac. While there is a heavier emphasis on culture and legend, readers will glean some notable scientific factoids, for example that Scorpius has as its centerpiece a flaming, ruby-coloured star. This supergiant is 300 times bigger than the Sun. Supplemental text and pertinent charts are included. Striking jewel-toned, classically inspired illustrations highlighted by metallic stars complement the text. This attractive survey of the symbols of the Zodiac should serve as an appealing starting point for budding astronomers and astrologers.–Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Mitton and Balit, who collaborated on Zoo in the Sky (1998) and Once upon a Starry Night (2003), now introduce the band of constellations first identified by the ancient Babylonians and known to us as the zodiac. Each of the main 12 double-page spreads features a large, striking illustration in brilliant colors, with some of the constellation's larger stars shining in silver foil and a few paragraphs of sometimes florid text discussing its zodiac symbol and its history. The closing pages provide more information about the sun's path, the constellations, the zodiac signs, the times of each constellation's greatest visibility in the sky, and in a rather confusing section, the differences between the dates for the astrological signs and when the astronomical constellations appear in the night sky. Considering the large proportion of space devoted to illustration, the vocabulary is sophisticated and will need interpretation for younger children. Older ones may want more information on each constellation. Recommended for larger collections. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books (October 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845070747
• ISBN-13: 978-1845070748
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,068,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching kids about the constellations and the mythology of the Zodiac, May 1, 2006

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Zodiac: Celestial Circle of the Sun" points out something that is true once you think about it. Everyone knows their own star sign, but most poeple cannot identify the Zodiac constellations in the night sky and the stars that form them. I know I sure could not. After the Big Dipper and the North Star I am lost. I did see Saturn once through a telescope, but somebody else had to set it up so that I could. That is why writer Jacqueline Mitton and illustrator Christina Balit take pity on me (and people like me) by providing an astronomical guide to the Zodiac. They also look at the celestial legends of gods, mortal men and fantasy creatures from which we the tradition of the Zodiac is rooted, but I am much stronger on that score.

In Introducing the Zodiac, Dr. Mitton (a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society who has an asteroid named after her and her husband Simon) explains that the Zodiac is made up of twelve of the most well-known constellations, with some of them first being recorded thousands of years ago on clay tablets. It was Babylonian astronomers who divided the band of the Zodiac into twelve equal signs around 500 BCE. Then it was Greek astronomers who adopted the Zodiac, while Greek poets and writers linked some of the constellations to their mythology.

The rest of the book devotes double-page spreads to each of the constellations in turn, starting with Aries and ending with Pisces (because when the Sun crosses the celestial equator from south to north at the equinox, the Sun happens to be in Aries). Basically for each sign Mitton does two things. First, she describes the constellation in terms of the starts that make it up. You can compare this with Balit's gorgeous full-color paintings, in which the stars that define the constellation are actually shiny silver stars stamped into the artwork. So when Mitton talks about how Aries has a trio of stars that mark the Ram's head, chief among them being a yellow giant called Hamal, you will notice that star is the biggest one in the constellation and that Balit has painted it in a yellow circle. The second thing Mitton does is to explain the significance of Aries in Greek mythology, where it becomes the magical flying ram with the golden fleece sent by Zeus to rescue Phrixus, son of the King of Boeotia.

On some of these constellations there are multiple explanations, so you can choose which one strikes your fancy the most. The mythology parts tend to come out ahead of the astronomical, mainly because Mitton and Balit do not really get to go into all of the stars which make up the various constellations, but also because the stories mix in tales from Mesopotamia to go along with the classical Greek (and Roman) myths. The order of the constellations in the book follows both of the key chronologies, whether you go by the dates the sun is in a traditional astrological sign and the dates sun is in the astronomical constellation (for Aries, for example, the former is March 21 to April 19, while the later is April 19 to May 13). This only sounds confusing, and Mitton explains how astronomical constellations compare with astrological signs at the end. If you want to know when Zodiac constellations are visible in the sky, there is a table for that as well in the back of the book.