Our Moon: New Discoveries About Earth's Closest Companion

by Elaine Scott

Overview

Since the dawn of human existence, people have gazed up at the night sky and wondered about the moon. Here the veteran nonfiction author Elaine Scott skillfully presents a wealth of captivating, kid-friendly information, covering everything from the newest theories on how the moon formed, to the recent, startling discovery of water on its surface and the very real possibility of future moon colonies. Illustrated with stunning, full-color photographs and packed with fun facts, this is the most complete and up-to-date book available on the moon and should find a home on every curious child’s bookshelf. Includes glossary, bibliography, and index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547483948
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/16/2016
Pages:	72
Sales rank:	722,233
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	NC1280L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Elaine Scott is often praised for making complicated scientific concepts accessible for young readers. She is the author of Our Moon: New Discoveries About Earth's Closest Companion, Space, Stars, and the Beginning of Time, and many other books on space and other topics. She lives in Houston, Texas. Visit her online at elainescott.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/23/2015
Scott (Buried Alive!) provides an approachable guide to our planet’s sole (natural) satellite, invoking human and planetary history, cultural lore, and scientific discoveries from across the centuries. After efficiently charting the lunar theories and studies of Anaxagoras, Harriot, Galileo, and others, Scott moves on to more recent history (including the 1969 Apollo 11 mission), extremely ancient events (the “giant impact theory” behind the moon’s formation), and the possibilities introduced by current and future research (such as the 21st-century confirmation of the presence of water on the moon, as well as a “thin and fragile” atmosphere). Color and b&w photographs, sidebars on topics that include logical reasoning and helio- and geocentric views of the universe, an extensive glossary, and suggested external resources augment Scott’s presentation of how human understanding of the moon has changed, and continues to do so. Ages 10–12. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

An Amazon Best Book of the Month "Broader in focus, more detailed, and more up-to-date than most children’s books on the subject, this well-designed volume will be a useful addition to astronomy collections." —Booklist  "Scott excels at rendering complex ideas intelligible: radioactive dating, the science of craters, the role of a planet's atmosphere, and much more are clearly presented. Well-captioned illustrations and photographs, diagrams, and pithy text boxes round out this handsome package." —Kirkus Reviews "An approachable guide to our planet’s sole (natural) satellite." —Publishers Weekly —

From the Publisher

01/01/2016
Gr 4–7—It has been more than four decades since anyone stood on the Moon, but scientific interest in our rocky neighbor has continued to kick out research satellites and probes designed to study its composition and history. Here Scott leads into a look at recent—relatively recent: the cutoff seems to be about mid-2014—discoveries about the Moon's origins, the presence of water, and the composition of its gaseous "exosphere" with broad overviews of lunar legends, early maps, and what scientists from Anaxagoras on have seen, guessed, and theorized. Along the way, she explains how the Moon was formed and covers basic facts; mentions Galileo; gives a well-deserved shout-out to the telescope's actual inventor, Hans Lippershey; and describes some Apollo missions. In side comments, she discusses diverse topics ranging from early spacesuits to the structure of different sorts of craters. Highlighted by a full-page version of the famous "Earthrise" photo near the end, the generous array of illustrations include old maps and images, color photos of scientists at work and of astronauts and spacecraft on the lunar surface, and dramatic renderings of the solar system's violent beginnings. Though the pace of discovery ensures that this survey will be at least a little dated by the time of publication, the list of websites at the end will well serve readers in search of the latest selenological scoops. VERDICT A good option for those seeking solar system materials.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York City

School Library Journal

2015-11-17
This examination of Earth's closest orbital companion presents historical information, scientific fact and theory, an overview of the Apollo missions, and recent discoveries. Scott first introduces readers to thinkers and scientists, from Anaxagoras to Galileo, who observed, mapped, and tested theories about the moon. The invention of the telescope and the ascendancy of scientific methodology propelled a centurieslong continuum of discovery. Today, the widely accepted "giant impact theory" posits that debris resulting from a colossal collision of a planetary object with Earth formed the basis for our moon. Notably, Scott casts a fresh new look at the successful Apollo missions, whose trove of 800 pounds of moon rocks continues to invite research. NASA's sophisticated unmanned 21st-century missions—which led to the thrilling discovery of the presence of water on the moon—garner respectful scrutiny. Scott shows that the global race to explore (and perhaps even colonize) the moon, which began with Russia's unmanned 1959 Luna 2 mission, is ongoing—with Japan, China, and India mounting missions. Scott excels at rendering complex ideas intelligible: radioactive dating, the science of craters, the role of a planet's atmosphere, and much more are clearly presented. Well-captioned illustrations and photographs, diagrams, and pithy text boxes round out this handsome package. (glossary, bibliography, websites, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews