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Education Should Be Fun
Our Planets: Moons, Myths, and More is an educational children’s book on the universe with beautiful images and activities included. What was the idea, or spark, that first set off the need to write Our Planets?
Julie Kusma and I were discussing what educational books we might like to write following the success of “Our Trees: Botanics, Beliefs, and More,” specifically what we find interesting and can we present that information in a fun and creative way. “Our Planets: Moons, Myths, and More” felt like another fantastic opportunity to weave our magic and let the creative fun flow while presenting educational content as an introduction for young and old.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
It’s always important for us to include ancient perspectives like mythologies, customs etc. With planets all named after Roman or Greek gods and goddesses it was a clear take-off point for us and include the mythology associated. We also thought it would be fun to include current pop culture for each planet such books and movies and an alien tour guide for a wee bit more humor too.
We believe education should be fun and as your reviewer noted, this book, as does our entire Our Education series, includes activities at the end of the book. In this case, a playable board game, and printable planet passport cards for young explorers to record their discoveries as they journey through “Our Planets: Moons, Myths, and More.”
Did you find anything in your research of this book that surprised you?
While we were amazed by the widely varying geology of the planets, especially those without a solid surface, the fact that the length of an earth day i.e. 24 hours, is not representative of the number of hours in a day on other planets, was not something we were aware of.
What is the next educational book that you are working on and when will it be available?
We will shortly be publishing, likely sometime in April 2024, “Our Dinosaurs: Discoveries, Distinctions and More,” which is with our editor at the moment. This has been a significant project for Julie and me on a variety of levels and we hope our readers find this volume as fun, educational and inspiring as our other books in the Our Education series.
Julie L. Kusma Author Links: Amazon | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Website
Derek R. King Author Links: Amazon | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Website
Your first stop on this planetary voyage will be in the Milky Way Galaxy, where you will observe unique constellations and other galactic objects.
You’ll be guided through the solar system, where you’ll be introduced to the different types of planets. Each planet is unique in its composition; some may be uninhabitable, while others may suggest the possibility of life.
Next, you’ll meet past and present astronomers and what they are most famous for.
At the end of your glorious planetary journey, you’ll find coloring book pages, a board game, and a passport game. Links to additional learning resources are also provided.
“The Mother of Hubble”
Her Eyes Were On the Stars: Nancy Grace Roman, “Mother of Hubble” Space Telescope, tells the story of how one girl’s dream of becoming an astronomer turned into a reality. What inspired you to tell her story?
At the time, I was looking for subjects to write about. I was hearing a lot about STEM and biographies for women in science, so maybe it was prophetic when I was watching an episode of NOVA on PBS about the Hubble Telescope and “the Mother of Hubble” when the name of Nancy Grace Roman was mentioned, and I thought she might be an interesting person to write about. She was certainly someone I had never heard of before and I was willing to bet others hadn’t either. I realized how remarkable she was after I started some preliminary research. I was fortunate to find her email on NASA’s website and to receive a quick response from her saying she would be interested in doing a telephone interview with me. From there, there was no turning back!
Your background in Engineering and having an MLIS in children’s literature gives you a unique perspective on writing nonfiction children’s books. What is the most rewarding part of writing books for children to you?
For me, it is that feeling I want to recreate that I had as a child reading really good books, magical books, or those that gave me a glimpse into someone else’s life. I’ve always had an interest in science, so maybe I am more interested in writing about those subjects. But I am also a very creative person, and my interest in architecture and interior design goes back to my creativity. So even though I love writing nonfiction, I also love making stories up, too.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
One thing I wanted to convey was how important first-hand accounts are to research. Primary sources are essential, and that was why I wanted so badly to interview Dr. Nancy Grace Roman in person. I wanted her account of events. I always tell kids that research can be like a game of telephone. The original message gets tangled the more times it gets told. So, one thing I really wanted to include in this book were the actual quotes Dr. Roman said to me. Also, I included all the other sources I used in the bibliography in the back that can be checked against my work. We all need to remember that just because someone says something, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Check your facts!
Will this book be the start of a series? I would love to see more books about other women in science, or are you working on a different story?
This book is a stand-alone, with no plans for more in a series. I do have other books, both nonfiction and fiction. One nonfiction book I am very proud of is Octopus Capers that is still unpublished, but with my agent, Stephen Fraser of Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency. He also has a middle-grade fantasy called The Changeling. Currently, I am working on a Halloween picture book called Every Creature Eats about a witch’s party where she is pushing lots of “treats” on her guests. It’s the kind of book I would’ve loved to have had as a Children’s Librarian at the library, where I would read a story to the kids, and then we’d have an activity related to the book, in this case, a snack.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Amazon
As a child, Nancy Grace Roman moved from home to home. The only constant? The nighttime sky. She loved the stars and knew from a young age that she wanted to become an astronomer. But could she, during a time when many women weren’t even allowed into colleges? Nancy Grace found a way to overcome each barrier placed before her. Her persistence paid off when she was named the first female executive as Chief of Astronomy at the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, in 1959. It was here she faced her biggest challenge to date.
Astronomers across the country wanted a telescope that would orbit in space above the Earth’s atmosphere allowing for the clearest view of the stars a telescope had ever seen. The problem? At this early stage of the United States space program, engineers hadn’t even successfully launched a rocket. How would Nancy Grace ever get a telescope into space? HER EYES WERE ON THE STARS introduces readers to a female scientist in the field of astronomy who will be forever affectionately known as “Mother of Hubble.”
“…is often forgotten by our younger generation of astronomers who make their careers by using the Hubble Space Telescope. Regretfully, history has forgotten a lot in today’s Internet age, but it was Nancy Grace Roman in the old days before the Internet and before Google and e-mail and all that stuff, who really helped to sell the Hubble Space Telescope, organize the astronomers, who eventually convinced Congress to fund it.” – Ed Weiler, former NASA Chief Scientist for Hubble
Our Planets
The wide, wonderful world of outer space has fascinated humankind since the beginning of time. Looking up from our own planet, Earth, millions of stars light up the night, prompting many people and cultures to muse about the far-flung reaches above us in the ebony skies. Our Planets: Moons, Myths, and More by Derek King and Julie Kusma builds on this inherent curiosity. Exploring the solar system, with the many varied planets in our “neighborhood,” this gorgeously illustrated introduction to the infinite possibilities of space is the perfect guide for the budding scientist or explorer in your life.
This journey across the solar system is full of fun. Each planet has an adorable space alien and intrepid astronaut as a guide as readers learn about the eight planets, with declassified Pluto still honored with an entry. A comprehensive glossary of terms helps newcomers understand the terminology of space science and further define their world. However, the book does not focus on scientific statistics alone. Also included are the fascinating myths surrounding each planet’s name, as well as popular culture references that feature each individual celestial sphere.
The stunning illustrations on each page, full of light and color, draw the reader further into exploring the universe. And the fun doesn’t end there! Featuring a playable board game and printable planet cards at the back of the book, the journey comes to a most satisfying conclusion, with a page of further resources for you and your junior scientist to learn even more about the solar system.
Prompting further research even for older readers like myself, this beautiful guide to the solar system is a must-have for readers 7 and up who love to gaze up at the night sky and imagine what must be up there. Perfect for reading together or independently, Our Planets: Moons, Myths, and More by Derek King and Julie Kusma is an engaging, informative, and beautiful introduction to the exploration of our vast universe.
Pages: 79 | ASIN : B0B6CYH31X
There’s No Basketball on Mars
There’s No Basketball On Mars by Craig Leener is an endearing story told from the perspective of Sherman Lawrence Tuckerman, an extremely intelligent young man who is making his way through life exceptionally well after being diagnosed with autism. Following his daily routines and interactions you get a wonderful insight into how he sees the world. Then one day his routine is interrupted for one of the best reasons, his dream of being on the first manned space mission to Mars, might just become a reality.
The imagination that has gone into this story is exemplary, especially when it is combined with the multitude of facts about space, math and how people on a certain part of the autistic spectrum view day to day life. This is one of the most amazing parts of this book, the perspective the reader gets to see. It is extremely educational for all who read it, and I would imagine quite motivational for anyone who may also be diagnosed with autism. One way this book may help is for them to see how the protagonist, Sherman, is aware of elements of his autism, which is expressed in lines such as ‘anxious I get in social situations and how much I resist variations to my established routine’ and then how he overcomes, or deals with these situations, sometimes with help from others.
There’s No Basketball On Mars is a riveting science fiction story aimed at young adults and Craig Leener has been innovative with both the story line and the narrative. The way the chapters are written keeps the reader engaged in the story. The chapters are short but chock-full of information. Sherman’s direct views also color the chapters and add much emotional depth when he writes notes or expresses his direct opinion of the situations he faces.
There’s No Basketball On Mars is a feel good story with a charming character at its center. I enjoyed reading this insightful sci-fi book as it provided a fresh character driven plot. This is an emotionally-resonant and intellectually invigorating story that I highly recommend.
Pages: 320 | ASIN: B09XJQ4K35
This Is An Inspirational Text
Kelvin and the Age of the Universe is a compilation of writings on the history of Astronomy and its influence on history and cultural development. How much research did you undertake for this book and how much time did it take to put it all together?
I was in Prague in 2020 (during Covid time) and wrote two essays in quantum physics and astronomy, that are part of the book.
The first essay “The connection between Larmor formula and Niels Bohr model in the 2-D cross-sectional views of an atom” is an elaborated text on electrodynamics and quantum physics.
This is an inspirational text. Larmor formula phonetically means “love formula” in French (my mother language). The introduction is a journey in time, with a presentation of portraits of notable personalities i.e. W. Rowan Hamilton, Ludwig Boltzmann, James C. Maxwell, Charles-Augustine Coulomb, etc. providing historical support to the text.
I wrote the second essay ” Connection between the cosmic horizon and the ladder to the hypersphere” in the spirit of my travels in Greece and North Africa. The philosophical inspirations are presented in the first chapter of the book dedicated to ancient astronomies, covering the classical period, Hesiod and Greek mythology, the Ptolemaic period up to the renaissance.
For the writing of the chapter on ancient astronomy, I referred to some on my notes, my visits to the British museum, and travels in South America.
Did you find anything in your research that surprised you?
Yes, quite few things surprised me.
For example, the finding of an elementary formula for Planck’s constant, a fundamental constant of physics, that matches so closely the actual measurements. A large portion of the tiny difference between the predicted Planck’s value from formula and measurements, can be explained by the relativistic effect of the electron, i.e. by a mass gap adjustment of the electron.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I had new ideas coming. I recently added a new chapter to my book, which now has 7 chapters. This chapter is dedicated to the Hubble’s constant. It’s main contribution is the derivation of a formula for the Hubble’s constant from the time-invariant Schrodinger’s equation.
The Hubble’s formula matches most accurate measurements of the constant, and provides some insights on Hubble’s law from a quantum perspective.
My ambition is that “Kelvin and the Age of the Universe” be a reference for quantum astronomy.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
Kelvin and the Age of the Universe
Kelvin and the Age of the Universe is a compilation of writings by author Yuri Heymann. This book is a compendium of Heymann’s knowledge and covers several different topics, all under the umbrella of astronomy.
This well-researched book begins with a history lesson that takes a deep dive into the Mayans and ends with the Renaissance. Then, Heymann craftily explains in detail how Astronomy has evolved over thousands of years. For each culture and society talked about, we learn how these societies contributed to the field of Astronomy and how Astronomy contributed to their cultures and religious beliefs. For example, it is fascinating to read how ancient Greek and Egyptian mythologies were impacted by astronomy and vice versa.
The historical section of Astronomy is also the most accessible to novices. Heymann does a good job writing on a level that most can comprehend. Many of the topics covered in the book are well researched and make for an interesting read. I feel that readers should have some basic knowledge of physics and astronomy as Heymann goes into specific astrological theories.
Heymann’s writing is concise, to the point, and still captivates the reader. Some of the equations and technical language can be a little intimidating to the less experienced, but Heymann makes his work as accessible as possible. The author never assumes his reader is as knowledgeable as him, and for the most part, many of the topics are explained in great detail. His arguments are well made, and absolutely everything is aided with evidence. For anyone looking to read further, his reference lists are extensive.
Kelvin and the Age of the Universe is an interesting read for anyone interested in astronomy. This intellectually invigorating book includes fascinating historical elements of physics and astronomy, making this book a unique blend of historical documentation and advanced theoretical astronomy.
Pages: 104 | ASIN : B09872GNSF
The Adventures of Charlie, Blue and Larry Lamp Post
![The Adventures of Charlie, Blue and Larry Lamp Post by [Sarah Duchess of York]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61s3aeO35AL.jpg)
Young Charlie has a secret. Every night Larry the Lamp Post and Billy Barrow come alive and whisk Charlie and his dog Blue away on a magical star filled adventure that empowers Charlie and teaches readers about different star constellations.
The Adventures of Charlie, Blue and Larry Lamp Post is a uniquely imaginative children’s book with gorgeous water color art that fills every page. I enjoyed the colorful palette and the beautifully whimsical imagery. All of the illustrations are perfect for capturing a child’s attention and imagination while creating an interest in astronomy.
The art style works perfectly to bring the universe to life once Charlie starts zipping around the stars. Young readers will learn about a variety of different constellations and even be treated to constellation and space facts at the end of the book. All of this serves to make this a spirited adventure that is also wonderfully educational as well.
This is a perfect addition to any teacher’s science section in elementary school. This book is also perfect for parents to share with their children as it arouses curiosity in the world and sends a positive message of hope. The Adventures of Charlie, Blue and Larry Lamp Post is a marvelous picture book that sends readers on a wondrous journey through the stars.
Pages: 38 | ASIN: B09DM68N56
LITERARY TITAN 