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Casting Shadows: Solar and Lunar Eclipses with The Planetary Society ®
The year 2024 is set to have multiple solar and lunar eclipses. Solar and lunar eclipses are sights to behold. But you don’t see them every day! Learn about the different kinds of eclipses. Then discover when they happen, how to watch them, and the cool things that can happen during an eclipse.
32 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 29, 2023
From time in memoriam, the fascination and fear associated with solar and lunar eclipses—that could either cast the Earth in total darkness during daylight hours or paint the moon in bloody red hues during the night—have always intrigued humankind. These mysterious occurrences are fully explored and explained in Bruce Betts’, gloriously photographed short book for children of all ages, “Casting Shadows: Solar and Lunar Eclipses With the Planetary Society.”
“Casting Shadows” notes that the word, syzygy, refers to three bodies in space that are in a straight line, and in an eclipse the Earth, Moon, and the Sun must be in alignment with each other to cast a shadow on one or the other. The little book is chock-full of detailed data, including: historical astronomical observations; explanations for each type of eclipse; occurrences for each type of eclipse; safe and proper viewing methods for solar eclipses; moon phases; and much more.
This is a comprehensive and succinct reference guide regarding eclipses, although short, it is profoundly educational and professionally written and attributed to the Planetary Society of America that has members in the tens of thousands and whose current president is Bill Nye—The Science Guy. I highly recommend “Casting Shadows” for every home library.
JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Bill Betts, and Publisher Lerner Books for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.
“Casting Shadows” notes that the word, syzygy, refers to three bodies in space that are in a straight line, and in an eclipse the Earth, Moon, and the Sun must be in alignment with each other to cast a shadow on one or the other. The little book is chock-full of detailed data, including: historical astronomical observations; explanations for each type of eclipse; occurrences for each type of eclipse; safe and proper viewing methods for solar eclipses; moon phases; and much more.
This is a comprehensive and succinct reference guide regarding eclipses, although short, it is profoundly educational and professionally written and attributed to the Planetary Society of America that has members in the tens of thousands and whose current president is Bill Nye—The Science Guy. I highly recommend “Casting Shadows” for every home library.
JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Bill Betts, and Publisher Lerner Books for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.
April 21, 2025
The science concept of eclipses is presented in an easy-to-understand book written for early elementary students. In three short chapters averaging 6-10 pages each, we learn how shadows make this possible, lunar eclipses, and solar eclipses. Each chapter presents the information in short paragraphs and uses large images, photographs and charts to help the reader understand what they are learning for each concept.
The grade level of the information is 2-3 with the interest age for readers being 7-10 years of age. This would be a good source for supplemental reading for planet and space reports or for those who have an interest in this topic. An introduction from Bill Nye who is the CEO of the Planetary Society gives context to the topic and what the society does. Supplemental materials also include a glossary, books and websites to learn more and the photo acknowledgements.
Lerner, the publisher, also has a set coming out of other books about the solar system written by the Planetary Society. This book was a standalone, but those looking for good research books might want to consider using the additional book set as well.
I would recommend this book for purchase by elementary school and public libraries.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.
The grade level of the information is 2-3 with the interest age for readers being 7-10 years of age. This would be a good source for supplemental reading for planet and space reports or for those who have an interest in this topic. An introduction from Bill Nye who is the CEO of the Planetary Society gives context to the topic and what the society does. Supplemental materials also include a glossary, books and websites to learn more and the photo acknowledgements.
Lerner, the publisher, also has a set coming out of other books about the solar system written by the Planetary Society. This book was a standalone, but those looking for good research books might want to consider using the additional book set as well.
I would recommend this book for purchase by elementary school and public libraries.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.
May 10, 2024
Very cute and informative for younger readers and scientists alike!
Very cute little book with lots of good information for young readers and scientists alike. The pictures and colors are vibrant and best viewed where the colors come through. The page layout was a little weird on the ebook with two page spread on a small single page plane. You will have to zoom in on each page separately when viewing on a phone or tablet as you can’t adjust the page layout. That is the only negative really for the book and maybe a further version of the book will fix this problem. The only other improvement I wish the book had was a step by step example of making the cardboard viewer for solar eclipses so kids could see how one is made and what it looks like to view through it. That way maybe they could make one as they read along. Simple, clear, and short facts and terms that are easy to read and understand for littles. Overall great little intro for eclipses!
Very cute little book with lots of good information for young readers and scientists alike. The pictures and colors are vibrant and best viewed where the colors come through. The page layout was a little weird on the ebook with two page spread on a small single page plane. You will have to zoom in on each page separately when viewing on a phone or tablet as you can’t adjust the page layout. That is the only negative really for the book and maybe a further version of the book will fix this problem. The only other improvement I wish the book had was a step by step example of making the cardboard viewer for solar eclipses so kids could see how one is made and what it looks like to view through it. That way maybe they could make one as they read along. Simple, clear, and short facts and terms that are easy to read and understand for littles. Overall great little intro for eclipses!
October 25, 2023
Casting Shadows was an interesting read. I feel that it is aimed towards higher elementary/middle school aged kids. While it has a lot of information in it I think a younger elementary child would get confused or frustrated. It felt like it jumped around a lot with lots of quick facts. Something I noticed is that it did not break down a harder words, i.e. "syzygy". We had to type it into the computer to hear how it was pronounced. The book did give a description of syzygy right after the word though, so that was nice.
Overall, I felt like Casting Shadows was a quick fact book. It did have some nice pictures to go along with each section to help see what you were reading about. I felt a little rushed with each section though (that is why I describe it as a "fact" book).
Thank you Lerner Publications and Bruce Betts, PhD for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Overall, I felt like Casting Shadows was a quick fact book. It did have some nice pictures to go along with each section to help see what you were reading about. I felt a little rushed with each section though (that is why I describe it as a "fact" book).
Thank you Lerner Publications and Bruce Betts, PhD for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 18, 2023
An excellent book about eclipses of the Sun and Moon. Fascinating stuff! I picked up on information that I didn't really know before, and that's coming from an adult. I always feel like anyone can learn something from children's books. This one is a good resource. Your kids will like it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley, but was not required to leave a positive review.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley, but was not required to leave a positive review.
February 6, 2025
It told you what to use to watch the color eclipse safely
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews