Stephanie Roth Sisson

I do not dislike all picture book biographies, I just find very few that I think are actually useful and not just pointless artistic exercises. I was surprised and pleased to find this one met all of my (many) requirements.

The first half of the book tells the story of Rachel Carson's childhood; her love of exploration and nature, and the time she spent observing and listening to the world around her. The second half gives a simple overview of her pivotal research, showing the effects of show more pesticides, her presentation to President Kennedy, and a final joyful spread showing a diverse group of people enjoying the natural world she loved. A quiet night scene shows Carson continuing her observation and care of the natural world. An extensive author's note, notes, and bibliography offer more resources for older readers interested in learning more about Carson's brief but influential life.

Sisson's art is a large part of the appeal of this book for me; paneled drawings show Carson as a child exploring the world filled with birds, animals, and green. As an adult, a stark, dark panel shows the rapidly disappearing wildlife. Carefully drawn diagrams explain how pesticides affected the birds and wildlife. Young readers don't need a lot of context to understand Carson's story and the attractive, clear art is seamlessly blended with the narrative. While there are more aspects to Carson's life, such as the sexism she faced, and more history, including the tumultuous issues of the 1960s, Sisson has done a great job of explaining why Rachel Carson is important in a way that young children can easily understand.

Verdict: This is a good choice for use in classrooms and libraries for children interested in the natural world, female scientists, and some simple history about the environmental movement.

ISBN: 9781626728196; Published August 2018 by Roaring Brook; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

As a fan of the series Cosmos, by Carl Sagan, I was so excited to buy this children's book for the little boy that I babysit for. I loved how it taught me so much about the planets, stars, and the Voyager 1 and 2. My favorite quote of the book is, " The Earth and every little thing are made of star stuff." The book makes what seems like a complicated subject, very easy to understand and fun at the same time. The illustrations are also mesmerizing and informative. The message is that being show more curious is very important and we all come from the same place, the stars. show less

I loved the way this book showed Carl Sagan as just a regular boy with questions, dreams and passions. The pages were beautiful and had points where they unfolded to show more of the night sky and illustrate just how small we are in the universe. While this is a biography it seems to show a history of science and exploration as well and I full plan on making sure this book makes it into my future classroom to show kids filled with curiosity that their dreams can lead them anywhere.

In simple text augmented by word bubbles, thought bubbles, and sketches, Stephanie Roth Sisson gives us the highlights of Carl Sagan's life—but more importantly, she offers a sense of his wondrous enthusiasm for the cosmos,

"It gave Carl goose bumps to think about what he had learned about the stars, planets, and the beginnings of life. He wanted everyone to understand so that they could feel like a part of the stars as he did.
So he went on television."

This is the first book that Stephanie show more Roth Sisson has both written and illustrated. The fact that she is enthralled with her subject is apparent in the artwork. Painted cartoon images (often in panels with word bubbles), depict a happy Sagan, wide-eyed and curious. While some pages are like panel comics, others are full-bleed, double spreads depicting the vastness of the darkened skies, dotted by planets or stars. One foldout opens vertically, reminding us of our infinitesimal existence in the cosmos. We are so small, yet we are reminded,

"The Earth and every living thing are made of star stuff."

Star Stuff is a 2015 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award Honor book for "outstanding nonfiction for children."

Substantial back matter includes Author's Note, Notes, Bibliography and Sources, Special Thanks, and Source Notes.

More at http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2015/02/star-stuff-carl-sagan-and-mysteries-o... show less