Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars

by Douglas Florian

Florian, Douglas. 2007. COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, AND MARS. New York: Harcourt. ISBN 9780152053727.

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars looks at astronomy through various forms of poetry. Each two spread page offers illustrations to enhance a poem written about something that can be found in space. Each poem offers facts and details, creating a fun environment for learning about space. An example of a fact fill poem, The Earth: two-thirds water/ one-third land/ valleys deep/ mountains grand/ sky of blue/ clouds of gray/ life here, too/ think I’ll stay. At the end of the book the reader can find a section call A Galactic Glossary, this section offers a paragraph of details for each poem found in the book and a list of books for further reading.

Douglas Florian’s illustrations are collage, rubber stamps, and a painting technique called gouache. The illustrations all done on a common element, a brow paper bag. Some pages even offer a cutout, giving the page a bit of a 3D affect.