HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: Solar System Forecast
Author: Kelly Kizer Whitt
Illustrator: Laurie Allen Klein
Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1-60718-523-9 (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60718-532-1 (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60718-541-3 (eBook)
Related website: http://sites.google.com/site/kellykizerwhitt (author), www.lauriekleinarts.com (illustrator), www.SylvanDellPublishing.com (publisher)
Language level: 1
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Reading level: Ages 4-9
Rating: 5 stars (EXCELLENT)
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
Disclosure: Any books donated for review purposes are in turn donated to a library. No other compensation has been received for the reviews posted on Home School Book Review.
For more information e-mail homeschoolbookreview@gmail.com .
Whitt, Kelly Kizer. Solar System Forecast (published in 2012 by Sylvan Dell Publishing, 612 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Suite A2, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464). Do you know what the weather is like on Mars today? Writing as if to space explorers who are going to travel throughout our solar system, author Kelly Kizer Whitt reports what the Solar Weather Channel says about the sun, speedy Mercury, sulfuric Venus, our own Earth, rust-colored Mars, huge Jupiter, ringed Saturn, Saturn’s largest moon Titan, calm Uranus, windy Neptune, and dwarf planet Pluto, with interesting facts about each of them. I do wish that there was some information on the asteroids. But one planet is called the Goldilocks planet—you know, like Little Bear’s porridge, not too hot, not too cold, but just right. Can you guess which one it is?
Most kids always enjoy reading about “outer space.” Some planets have below-freezing temperatures, others have scorching heat, and a few have storms bigger than the planet Earth. Budding astronomers can find out which ones have what while chuckling at the humorous drawings by illustrator Laurie Allen Klein. They will also like the “For Creative Minds” learning activities, which include a “Solar System Compare and Contrast” exercise, further information about “The Sun: Heat and Light,” and “Thinking It Through: Life and Basic Needs.” And there are even more free teaching activities at the publisher’s website. Did you know that because Mercury is so close to the sun, most of its atmosphere has been blown away by the solar wind?
homeschoolbookreviewblog 