Sun: Our Nearest Star

Children's Literature

There are some things all civilized people should know. We should all know who Shakespeare was and even be able to quote a line or two from one of his plays. We should all be able to say "thank you" in any country we visit. We should also have, at least some sense of the world we inhabit, its constitution, shape, and scale. And we should have a bit of an understanding of how it fits into the larger scheme of things. That's where this book comes in. It presents in seven chapters for a total of forty-eight pages a sound, comprehensive, and engaging account of the Sun complete with superb images from expert sources. There is a close examination of the surface of the Sun with detailed and breath-taking images of sunspots. That is followed by a virtual tour of our star, from its nuclear burning interior to the tenuous coronal streamers. There is history, and science. There is even a set of instructions on how to build a pinhole camera for making safe observations of the sun. In short, this is an excellent book about a fascinating subject. If a library were limited to a single book about the Sun, this is probably the one to choose. The author is a former editor of Scientific American and Omni magazines. This book is part of the excellent "New Solar System" series. 2003, Smart Apple Media, Ages 10 to 14.
—Michael Chabin