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When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
Leave time for wonder.
Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is an enduring celebration of the imagination. Here, Whitman's wise words are beautifully recast by New York Times #1 best-selling illustrator Loren Long to tell the story of a boy's fascination with the heavens. Toy rocket in hand, the boy finds himself in a crowded, stuffy lecture hall. At first he is amazed by the charts and the figures. But when he finds himself overwhelmed by the pontifications of an academic, he retreats to the great outdoors and does something as universal as the stars themselves...
he dreams.
Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is an enduring celebration of the imagination. Here, Whitman's wise words are beautifully recast by New York Times #1 best-selling illustrator Loren Long to tell the story of a boy's fascination with the heavens. Toy rocket in hand, the boy finds himself in a crowded, stuffy lecture hall. At first he is amazed by the charts and the figures. But when he finds himself overwhelmed by the pontifications of an academic, he retreats to the great outdoors and does something as universal as the stars themselves...
he dreams.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1865
4 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
Walt Whitman
1,658 books5,500 followersWalter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."
Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn as a child and through much of his career. At the age of 11, he left formal schooling to go to work. He worked as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. Whitman's major poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, was financed with his own money and became well known. The work was an attempt to reach out to the common person with an American epic. Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892.
During the American Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and worked in hospitals caring for the wounded. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. On the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whom Whitman greatly admired, he authored two poems, "O Captain! My Captain!" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and gave a series of lectures on Lincoln. After suffering a stroke towards the end of his life, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where his health further declined. When he died at the age of 72, his funeral was a public event.
Whitman's influence on poetry remains strong. Art historian Mary Berenson wrote, "You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without Leaves of Grass... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him." Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman "America's poet... He is America."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 29, 2019
"Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children"--Gradgrind, Hard Times, Charles Dickens
I am a fan of Hard Times, and also Walt Whitman's related poem:
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer:
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
The poem certainly could certainly be perceived as anti-science or anti-school learning (or, rather, the way that school learning can separate the mind from the heart/soul), but I prefer to think of it primarily as an affirmation of the imagination and experience.
Loren Long's dreamy, dark illustrations imagine a quite, contemplative boy (possibly the son of academics?) who take (drag?) him to a university astronomy lecture. He carries a toy rocket in his hand, which at some point he takes out into "the mystical moist air" to hold up to the stars.
I imagine it for older, introverted kids, not littluns. Lovely illustrations of a poem I like by a poet I like. My mother-in-law made an interesting point, as she worked for much of her life with kids in an urban area "without certain kinds of advantages": "Quiet, contemplative, more attuned to a higher ed environment where a younger kid might be exposed to those kinds of learning opportunities such as astronomy lectures."
I am a fan of Hard Times, and also Walt Whitman's related poem:
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer:
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
The poem certainly could certainly be perceived as anti-science or anti-school learning (or, rather, the way that school learning can separate the mind from the heart/soul), but I prefer to think of it primarily as an affirmation of the imagination and experience.
Loren Long's dreamy, dark illustrations imagine a quite, contemplative boy (possibly the son of academics?) who take (drag?) him to a university astronomy lecture. He carries a toy rocket in his hand, which at some point he takes out into "the mystical moist air" to hold up to the stars.
I imagine it for older, introverted kids, not littluns. Lovely illustrations of a poem I like by a poet I like. My mother-in-law made an interesting point, as she worked for much of her life with kids in an urban area "without certain kinds of advantages": "Quiet, contemplative, more attuned to a higher ed environment where a younger kid might be exposed to those kinds of learning opportunities such as astronomy lectures."
February 18, 2020
Lovely interpretation!
September 24, 2021
Lovely poem the illustration is really pretty
February 8, 2022
“Any fool can know. The point is to understand”
A perfect interpretation of the difference between stuffed up textbook knowledge and knowledge gained from experimentation and experience.
✨🌟 Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. ✨🌟
read the poem here
Blog
A perfect interpretation of the difference between stuffed up textbook knowledge and knowledge gained from experimentation and experience.
✨🌟 Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. ✨🌟
read the poem here
Blog
January 27, 2023
I can't believe I rated it one star, either. I love Walt Whitman! I love children's books!
So here's the deal. The illustrations, while nicely done, actually interfere with the story (in this case, a very short Walt Whitman poem). The poem is given one line on a page, and then two more pages (just illustrations!) must be turned before the next line is revealed. This destroys one's ability to actually appreciate the poem--it's a Whitman poem, for heaven's sake, not a nursery rhyme. Content is sacrificed for illustration here.
Side complaint: there are some childlike "line drawings" included on some pages. You will either find them a charming addition or, like me, spend half the book worried that someone has drawn in your library book. (It seems plausible because they do not occur regularly enough to make it clear immediately that they are on purpose, and because the line color looks a lot like pencil--at least in library lighting.) It should be obvious that I don't think that the line drawings add enough to make their inclusion worth it.
My third complaint is probably less with Whitman than it is with how the poem is used here. Again, as a poem, it is not treated with respect, as it is impossible to read it coherently due to all the "illustration padding." I'd also argue that the illustrators' take on it is, if not anti-science, certainly anti-math, and it's just such a lazy take. The giveaway is the old Einstein quote on the back about imagination being more important than knowledge, but allow me to point out that, while imagination might inspire you to put a person on the moon, it's your knowledge--the "proofs, the figures"--that actually put a person there. I'd add that taking such a small child to the kind of Learn'd Astronomer lecture involving "charts and diagrams" seems a very odd choice. (Wouldn't any kid that young become "tired and sick"?)
Ultimately, the message here is: poetry isn't important, and math stinks! And to that I respond:
Twinkle twinkle little sun,
I think math's a lot of fun;
Like a tea tray in the sky,
I get high on e and pi.
So here's the deal. The illustrations, while nicely done, actually interfere with the story (in this case, a very short Walt Whitman poem). The poem is given one line on a page, and then two more pages (just illustrations!) must be turned before the next line is revealed. This destroys one's ability to actually appreciate the poem--it's a Whitman poem, for heaven's sake, not a nursery rhyme. Content is sacrificed for illustration here.
Side complaint: there are some childlike "line drawings" included on some pages. You will either find them a charming addition or, like me, spend half the book worried that someone has drawn in your library book. (It seems plausible because they do not occur regularly enough to make it clear immediately that they are on purpose, and because the line color looks a lot like pencil--at least in library lighting.) It should be obvious that I don't think that the line drawings add enough to make their inclusion worth it.
My third complaint is probably less with Whitman than it is with how the poem is used here. Again, as a poem, it is not treated with respect, as it is impossible to read it coherently due to all the "illustration padding." I'd also argue that the illustrators' take on it is, if not anti-science, certainly anti-math, and it's just such a lazy take. The giveaway is the old Einstein quote on the back about imagination being more important than knowledge, but allow me to point out that, while imagination might inspire you to put a person on the moon, it's your knowledge--the "proofs, the figures"--that actually put a person there. I'd add that taking such a small child to the kind of Learn'd Astronomer lecture involving "charts and diagrams" seems a very odd choice. (Wouldn't any kid that young become "tired and sick"?)
Ultimately, the message here is: poetry isn't important, and math stinks! And to that I respond:
Twinkle twinkle little sun,
I think math's a lot of fun;
Like a tea tray in the sky,
I get high on e and pi.
October 28, 2019
A great intro to Whitman, and the interpretation of the work by the illustrator will make it more approachable for little ones.
July 18, 2022
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
A great deal of debate exists in the arena of knowledge on the subject of the issue of divergence between ideas, beliefs and knowledge – between practice and theory.
In this lyric the poet expresses his disenchantment with science and his enthrallment with the exquisiteness of the night-sky.
The astronomer studies the stars and their movements; he makes his computations; he draws his diagrams and charts; he arrives at his results; he publishes his conclusions and he delivers lectures to his audiences on the discoveries that he has made.
But the poet is not engrossed in the scrutiny, investigation and conclusions of the astronomer. So he moves out of the lecture- hall.
After hearing the astronomer the poet becomes exhausted and ill and wanders off into the night and looks up in ideal hush at the stars.
This simple lyric suggests that Whitman, like the other romantics, attacked science as an adversary of the mind's eye.
So, he is out to enjoy the poetry of the starry-heavens. He finds a mystic beauty in the night-sky.
The scientists are not able to find it there. Here Whitman is almost evocative of Wordsworth:
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—
We murder to dissect.
Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives….
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
A great deal of debate exists in the arena of knowledge on the subject of the issue of divergence between ideas, beliefs and knowledge – between practice and theory.
In this lyric the poet expresses his disenchantment with science and his enthrallment with the exquisiteness of the night-sky.
The astronomer studies the stars and their movements; he makes his computations; he draws his diagrams and charts; he arrives at his results; he publishes his conclusions and he delivers lectures to his audiences on the discoveries that he has made.
But the poet is not engrossed in the scrutiny, investigation and conclusions of the astronomer. So he moves out of the lecture- hall.
After hearing the astronomer the poet becomes exhausted and ill and wanders off into the night and looks up in ideal hush at the stars.
This simple lyric suggests that Whitman, like the other romantics, attacked science as an adversary of the mind's eye.
So, he is out to enjoy the poetry of the starry-heavens. He finds a mystic beauty in the night-sky.
The scientists are not able to find it there. Here Whitman is almost evocative of Wordsworth:
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—
We murder to dissect.
Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives….
Read
September 10, 2015When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
December 13, 2020
whitman: i point at scientists and laugh at them
March 6, 2025
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
January 18, 2023
Lo leí en la biblioteca donde trabajo, y me pareció curioso que en las páginas que iban solo dedicadas a los textos, los niños del lugar habían decidido que merecían tener también su dibujo, así que le pusieron estrellas, la luna, un parque y se me hizo algo bonito.
August 22, 2025
Gorgeous illustrations! I also love the prose and deep message by Walt Whitman. I only wish there was more of it. It makes for more of a reflective discussion book, not as much a reading book, but the looking and talking could be beautiful.
February 13, 2026
The pictures in this book are wonderful, but I'm not sure I understand what the story is supposed to be about. I know this book is from a Walt Whitman poem, but I still did not really get what the story was trying to show/explain.
September 27, 2018
It's not particularly memorable, but it's a fairly fun, whitty little poem. I love how it pokes fun at stuffy textbook knowledge over learned knowledge gained from experience
January 25, 2019
Not a huge fan of the poem, but the illustrations are lovely.
May 2, 2019
Great illustrations and message. You don’t have to be a ‘learn’d” astronomer to see the incredible world that God has made.
November 23, 2020
This book is great for students because it celebrates their imagination. This book is recommended for students in grades K-4.
December 16, 2021
I enjoyed reding this
August 28, 2025
I, too, find myself experiencing a great sense of depression when listening to a STEM lecture.
Read
September 28, 2012This picture book is a great retelling of Walt Whitman's poem. This is the first time that I have read a poem one line at a time that was separated with great big pictures. I really like how the poem is set up in the book. There is only one line at a time, and after you read the line there is an illustration, then a double page illustration, this makes understanding the poem a lot more easier. This is because as you read you are able to imagine how images are reflecting the poem. This set up makes the poem really accessible to young children, as it simplifies and it and makes it less overwelming. This poem is an example of why poetry is so important for young children as it helps them develop their imagination and creativity.
July 23, 2014
I absolutely adored this book. "I Heard The Learn'd Astronomer" is a poem written by Walt Whitman that is stretched out page by page/line by line through breathtaking illustrations. To be honest, the illustrations are what make this book so special but if you pay attention to the words, they are just as captivating. This beautiful book celebrates imagination and would be amazing to use in an early elementary classroom on so many different levels. My favorite part is the quote on the last page from Albert Einstein, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
August 23, 2013
After stopping at the Walt Whitman Rest Area on a trip, my children were interested in learning about Walt Whitman. I took this and some other Whitman volumes out of the library upon our return. The combination of Whitman's sage observations and Long's beautiful illustrations of the poem (as if the work were the observations of a young boy) make a perfect pair. Younger readers, however, may find themselves confused until they reach the end of the book since Whitman's poem does not reveal its meaning until the end.
March 2, 2011
What a great poem by Walt Whitman and what a great picture book illustrating each line. Each line is given four pages of illustration! What a great book to use to make Whitman's poems more accessible to reluctant poetry readers.
For those who are unfamiliar with this poem, Einstein describes its meaning best in a quote that is included on the last page of this book: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
For those who are unfamiliar with this poem, Einstein describes its meaning best in a quote that is included on the last page of this book: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
September 27, 2015
This presentation uses a young boy as narrator for Whitman's verses. The child's fascination with the stars, prompts his well-meaning parents to take him to an astronomy lecture. Bored by the dry dissertation, the youngster slips outside to joyfully contemplate the heavenly panorama that is spread across the night sky.
Long tempers the elegant precision of his paintings with contrasting doodles provided by his sons creating a visual parallel with the poetic lines.
Long tempers the elegant precision of his paintings with contrasting doodles provided by his sons creating a visual parallel with the poetic lines.
October 3, 2008
Words by Walt Whitman, insightful illustrations by Loren Long. In this book a young boy attends a university lecture on astronomy, bringin along his toy rocket, to find his imagination takes him elsewhere. The last quote of the book is one from Albert Einstein, 'Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
July 25, 2016
Whitman's poem comes to life with Loren Long's gorgeous illustrations. The frustration and boredom of the child in the lecture hall give way to release and passion as he moves on his own to explore the universe firsthand. Lovely wordless spreads show the hushed wonder of a boy who knows how to wonder at the universe. A beautiful book.
March 8, 2016
This book is an illustration of some verse by Whitman. While deep and philosophical, I don't think it is appropriate for small children. They just won't "get it" yet. My two boys (2 and 4 years old) looked at the pictures but weren't the slightest bit interested in the "narrative." (So no rating)
Nice illustrations.
Nice illustrations.
February 25, 2011
Beautiful illustrations, but the text is a bit difficult for children. I thought the doodles were a nice touch, but everytime this book is returned it is going to end up with some staff member trying to erase the marks.
October 4, 2012
beautiful poem, beautiful illustrations. short enough for bedtime, maybe a little too heavy for story time unless there is a certain walt whitman theme or something. I liked the chicken scratch on the non illustrated pages, at first I thought someone had written in the book!
September 4, 2016
A short, beautiful poem about literally getting sick and tired of sitting in a lecture hall and finding solace by just going outside and looking at the stars. The spread with the little boy staring upward against a backdrop of the universe gave me chills.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews