Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florian, Douglas. 2007. Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings.

Orlando, Florida. ISBN 9780152053727

PLOT SUMMARY

With this anthology, Florian has created a visually appealing, poetic collection. The outer space themed poems are informational, yet entertaining to read. The poems are short, but each line is well developed as he describes the planets and comets. He includes colorful illustrations that support the understanding of the poems and add a fun element for the reader. Readers interested in astronomy will enjoy this collection. A Galactic Glossary is included to give readers a detailed description of each subject from the poems.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Even though the subject of the poetry is somewhat more difficult to understand, Florian’s word choice is meaningful and specific. His rhyming is masterful as he maintains the quality of the information he relays to the reader. The artwork supports learning as it provides a visual for the reader to reference. For example, The Great Beyond is about a planetoid, Sedna. The poem describes in accurate detail how small it is, saying, “Sometimes, so small/They’re measured in decimals.” Without the illustrations that show a planet and a planetoid side by side, it would be difficult to make the size comparison. Florian utilizes concrete poetry with A Galaxy, when he writes the poem in the shape of a spiral. It fits in with the rest of the illustrations, which show spirals on both pages. Most of the poems do not include stanzas, but the poems are relatively short, so it is easy to read. The bright colors are eye-catching and reflect the subject’s descriptions.

Florian included cutouts on some pages that allows the reader glimpses of the next page. He also incorporated visual cues, such as the word blue written in blue font, in the poem Neptune. This is helpful for young readers and ELL’s. The illustrations for The Constellations show light, chalk lines connecting the constellations to show the images they are named for. This is a great graphic for students and it reinforces the text. The Comet describes a comet as a “dirty snowball of space debris.” Florian’s illustration shows a child throwing a snowball, and as it wraps around the pages, it gets larger and becomes the shape of a comet. Florian cleverly uses the phrase, “And I’d tell you more, but I’ve run out of space,” to signal the end of the book, while maintaining the space theme.

This is a great book for introducing astronomy to upper elementary readers.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

A starred review in Horn Book Guide: Moving from universe to galaxy to sun, planets to constellations and "the great beyond," Florian sums up the heavens in twenty snappy rhymes.”

A starred review in School Library Journal: “This one literally sings the music of the spheres.”

CONNECTIONS

*Allow students to compose and design their own concrete poems about space. 

Sidman, Joyce. Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry. ISBN 0618448942

*Another poetry book about space:

Salas, Laura Purdie. And Then There Were Eight: Poems About Space. ISBN 9781515761532