Module 12-Starry Messenger

Book Info:
Starry Messenger by Peter Sis. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000.

Summary:
Using Galileo's own words, simple language, and rich illustrations, Peter Sis relates the story of Galileo, one of the greatest minds in the history of the world. He includes history, such as that Galileo and Shakespeare were both born in the same year, and that Michaelangelo died then, too, as well as details about Galileo's persecution from the Inquisition.. Though Galileo was eventually found guilty of heresy by the Inquisition, nearly 300 years later the Church pardoned him, and shortly before his pardon, in 1989, the Galileo spacecraft was launched.
My Take:
While this book is both interesting and beautiful, at times the playfulness of the illustrations, especially how Sis plays with the placement of text, the book can be a bit hard to read and understand. Despite those readability issues, this is still a very interesting book, especially for anyone who wants to learn more about Galileo. The illustrations are interesting and brilliant; if only the text were a bit more readable.
Reviews:
Booklist (October 15, 1996 ; 0-374-37191-1 )
Gr. 4^-6. Sis celebrates the life, ideas, and genius of Galileo in a picture book that achieves a brilliance of its own. Relating events in Galileo's life, the book offers a sense of the world in which he lived and makes readers understand why his work was dangerous to the church and ultimately to himself. Large, beautiful drawings reflect the ideas, events, books, maps, world view, and symbolism of the times. These intricate ink drawings, idiosyncratic in concept and beautifully tinted with delicate watercolor washes, are complemented by smaller drawings and prints that illustrate a side-text of significant dates, time lines, quotations, comments, and explanations. These are printed in cursive and sometimes in serpentine or circular shapes that force the reader to turn the book around to make out the words. Without a doubt, this unusual picture book will attract an audience of adults who appreciate the art of Sis as well as the legacy of Galileo. The questions of whether children will be drawn to the book and what they will take away are more problematic, since the text and illustrations will be more rewarding for a reader who already has some knowledge of Galileo and the period. Still, those drawn to the book will find that it works on many levels, offering not just facts but intuitive visions of another world. An original. --Carolyn Phelan
Suggestions:
This book would be very interesting (and a bit hard to use) at a storytime event, given the hard to read text. But the illustrations are wonderful and would most likely be enjoyed. Perhaps if the storyteller memorized all of the facts and figures and then just used the pictures as they related the information it could work.