Spectacular Science: A Book of Poems

by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Selected by), Virginia Halstead (Illustrator)

Overview

Lee Bennett Hopkins and Virginia Halstead combine charming poems with vivid illustrations to share the beauty of the subject of science. ​

Spectacular Science shows that science is not a dry subject at all, but that it is a way of looking at the world. With sensitivity and wonder, new poets explore biology, chemistry, physics, and more.

Lee Bennett Hopkins combines the intriguing voices of a variety of poets with Virginia Halstead’s fanciful illustrations, creating a thought-provoking collection that makes science accessible, intriguing, and fun.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689851209
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	07/01/2002
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

LEE BENNETT HOPKINS is a distinguished poet, writer, and anthologist whose poetry collections include the highly acclaimed Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry, illustrated by Peter Fiore, and My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States, and America at War, both illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Mr. Hopkins’s numerous awards include the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for “lasting contributions to children’s literature” and both the Christopher Award and a Golden Kite Honor for his verse novel Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life. He lives in Cape Coral, Florida.

Table of Contents

	What Is Science?	10
	Encounter	13
	To Look at Any Thing	14
	The Seed	15
	Under the Microscope	16
	Crystal Vision	18
	Magnet	21
	Dinosaur Bone	23
	Rocks	24
	Metamorphosis	25
	How?	26
	Snowflakes	28
	What Are You, Wind?	31
	Three Skies	32
	Stars	35

Editorial Reviews

"An intriguing picture book celebrates the sense of wonder that motivates scientists," wrote PW. "The surrealistic artwork favors the playfulness behind imagination over scientific objectivity." Ages 5-up. (July) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

An intriguing picture book celebrates the sense of wonder that motivates scientists. The first poem, "What Is Science?" by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, catalogues the sheer range of phenomena that science covers: "The study of soil, oil, and gas./ Of sea and sky,/ of seed and grass." The subsequent 24 poems describe an encounter with a deer, a neglected magnet and the uniqueness of snowflakes as the poets pay close attention to nature. Whether the subjects all qualify as "science" may be in doubt, but the poems each evoke the mysteriousness of the physical world. Hopkins (Marvelous Math) includes an enigmatic poem by Carl Sandburg--"The stars tell nothing--and everything"--along with newer poets like Aileen Fisher, who asks in "The Seed," "How does it know,/ this little seed,/ if it is to grow/ to a flower or weed?" The real star here is Halstead (Daughter, Have I Told You?), whose artwork possesses a surrealistic quality and who favors the playfulness behind imagination over scientific objectivity. In one spread, a scientist and a grinning reptile perched on a giant beaker lock eyes; in another, a child unzips an overcast sky to reveal the clear blue on the other side. Luminous colors, layers of texture and dreamlike images create a distinctive look. Though the collection's definition of science may be expansive to the point of being amorphous, it offers proof positive that poetry and science share a profound delight in observing the world around us. Ages 5-up. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 2-6 Rocks, snowflakes, stars, and a dinosaur bone are some of the subjects that come under the observant eye of poets such as Valerie Worth, Lilian Moore, Carl Sandburg, David McCord, and Alice Schertle. Hopkins's selection of 15 poems clearly offers an invitation to ponder what science is and what scientists do. Halstead's paintings offer fresh, original, and decidedly quirky visual interpretations of the poems. Rendered in "oil pastels, oil bars, wax, and Prisma color pencils," they feature a variety of textures and have a multilayered appearance. Presented on large double-page spreads and filled with bold forms and colors, the illustrations are riveting, even from a distance. A delightful, thought-provoking anthology that is in short spectacular. Carolyn Angus, The Claremont Graduate School, CA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Two seemingly distant realms, science and poetry, come together in this whimsical collection, a book that is as fine a choice for home as for the library or classroom.
— Riverbank Review

Mary Lou Burket