Bibliography:
Simon, Seymour. 2006. STARS. New York, NY: Smithsonian|Collins a division of HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0-7569-6747-5
Plot Summary:
Seymour Simon and the Smithsonian team up to bring readers informational text about stars. Have you ever looked up into the sky and wondered what was out there beyond what you could see? Are the ‘twinkle, twinkle little stars’ really diamonds in the sky? Find out what stars are made of, how they form and what it takes for humans to see them from earth. Certain stars that are aligned in a certain way form pictures in the sky called constellations. Enjoy the beautiful pictures accompanied with easy to read text and learn about stars.
Critical Analysis:
Seymour Simon has provided readers interesting reading complimented by vivid photography for anyone interested in learning more about stars in the sky. Within the pages of the book are factoids that are tidbits of more complex explanations, which makes for easy reading. Simon offers bits of history, science and art to delight readers who are interested in what is beyond the stars you can see with your naked eye. How many stars can you see on an average night? The photographs he provides are like works of art that are not created by human hands, but balls of gases and light so very far away the only way to see is with a high-powered telescope. “Stars” is an excellent book for basic research projects for younger grades or kids who are interested in space and might delve deeper into the subject after enjoying this book.
Review Excerpts:
"Handsome and informative, a must for the science shelf." -- --Booklist
"Simon may have done more than any other living author to help us understand and appreciate the beauty of our planet and our universe." -- --Kirkus Reviews
"Simon may have done more than any other living author to help us understand and appreciate the beauty of our planet and our universe." -- --Kirkus Reviews
Connections:
The Space Place - http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/
NASA Kid’s Club - http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html
NASA Quest - http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/
Books:
A Book About Planets and Stars by Betty Polisar Reigot
Ride to the Stars, A Story for Children about Life, Loss and Love by Suzanne Gene Courtney
Where Are the Stars During the Day?: A Book about Stars (Discovery Readers) by Melvin Berger, Gilda Berger and Blanche Sims
Fancy Nancy Sees Stars (I Can Read Book 1) by Jane O’Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser and Ted Enik
Stars Beneath Your Bed: The Surprising Story of Dust (Ala Notable Children’s Books, Younger Readers (Awards)) by April Pulley Sayre and Ann Jonas
Spots of Light: A Book About Stars (Amazing Science: Exploring the Sky) by Meachen Rau, Dana, Shea and Denise
Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations by Jacqueline Mitton and Christina Balit
Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy by Matthew Reinhart
Vincent Van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars (Smart About Art) by Joan Holub
Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian
I Am a Star: Child of the Holocaust (A Puffin Book) by Inge Auerbacher
*********************************Bonus Activities************************************************************************************************************
Kindergarten Activities on Stars
By Shannon Cathie, (eHow Contributor) Stars are most visible on clear nights away from the city lights. Children are exposed to the stars from a very early age, from poems, such as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Star Light, Star Bright," to gold star stickers and real stars shining in the night sky. Bring the love of stars into your kindergarten classroom and enjoy the art and science behind those starry nights.
- A Star is Born
o Read books about stars such as "Our Stars" by Anne Rockwell, "Stars! Stars! Stars!" by Bob Barner or "Stars" by Seymour Simon.
Have kindergartners help act out how a star is born. Clear an open space in the classroom and have the students spread out. Hold a flashlight in your hands but keep it off. Turn off the overhead lights to darken the room but leave a door open so there is enough light to see. Have students float around like tiny bits of gas and dust. As students float and spin, call the name of the student standing closest to you. Tell the student gravity has pulled you two together. Have the student stand right next to you to create a small ball of gas and dust. Continue to float as a team standing side by side. Call the name of the next student standing closest to you. Once again gravity has pulled you together. Point out to students how the ball of gas and dust is growing larger. Continue to float around the room as a group of three. Keep calling students' names to join your growing ball of gas and dust. After the last kindergartner is pulled into the ball, tell students stars form when the gas pressure inside the ball increases. Have everyone squish together as tight as possible. Announce that the middle of the ball is getting really hot. Turn on the flashlight and say, "A star is born!"
- Star Poetry
o Write the words to "Star Light, Star Bright" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on pieces of chart paper. You may want to copy just the first stanza in "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" due to the poem's length. Practice reading poems together. Invite students to point to the words as the class reads. Remind kindergartners that the stars in the sky are balls of hot gas. Because the star's light has to travel long distances through space before entering the earth's atmosphere, what we see are star shapes that appear to twinkle. Hand out copies of the poems for students to illustrate and take home to practice reading with their families.
Starry Constellations
o Read books about constellations such as "Zoo in the Sky" by Jacqueline Mitton or "The Big Dipper" by Franklyn Branley.
Draw the stars of different constellations, such as The Big Dipper, Ursa Major or Orion, on the board. Connect the stars in the Big Dipper to show students construction paper how drawing lines between the stars help us see shapes and objects in the sky. Hand out black sheets of to kindergartners. Have student use white or yellow crayons to draw stars on the paper. Use star shaped stickers in place of crayons to add a fun twist to the project. Have students look at their papers to see if they can spot something in their night sky. Can they find a train or an elephant? What about a house or an ice cream cone? Have students take time to look at each other's pictures and point out things they see. Encourage students to be creative in what they can find in the artwork. Once students find an object in their sky, have them use a crayon to connect the dots to show their new constellation. Help students write the name of their constellation on the top of their papers.http://www.ehow.com/info_7927089_kindergarten-activities-stars.html
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