Mercury ANNOTATION
Describes what is known about Mercury from the photographs taken by Project Mariner.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
This stunning introduction to the first planet in our solar system provides young readers with the most up-to-date information about this airless planet. Full-color photographs complete this stellar presentation. A "fine contribution to science collections."—Kirkus Reviews.
Author Biography:
Seymour Simon is the author of over one hundred science books for children. His many award-winning books include Icebergs and Glaciers, a New York Academy of Sciences Children's Book Award winner, as well as Storms, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Mountains, and many books about the solar system. Mr. Simon is the recipient of the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Nonfiction for the body of his work. He lives in Great Neck, New York.
FROM THE CRITICS
Asimov's Science Fiction
...[C]oncisely delivers up-to-the-minute information...
Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot
The planet Mercury is one of the smallest planets in our solar system and the one closest to the sun. Due to this proximity, its orbit and its own rotation, the temperature on the surface swings over 1000 degrees during a day. The planetary surface is pockmarked with craters due to collisions with meteorites and asteroids. We don't know a lot about this planet because there has only been one probe--Mariner 10. Until there is another mission, we will not learn much more, but what little we do know is presented with stunning full page illustrations. 1998 (orig.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 4-- Simon adds two more titles to his photo essays on the solar system, this time on planets for which there are no full-color photographs. The large, nearly square format and striking use of white type on black pages help to maintain the visual excitement of the earlier titles. In Mercury , the black-and-white photos taken by Mariner 10 in 1974 and 1975 are supplemented by a color photo of the planet in the evening sky, an artist's rendition of Mercury's surface, and colorful diagrams of the planet's revolution and rotation--although no mention is made of how its orbital eccentricity affects them. In spite of continous cloud cover, Venus is boldly depicted through the use of color-contour maps made from the 1980 Pioneer Venus Orbiter radar information and the red and white representations of Magellan's latest radar maps. Both texts offer clear, straightforward introductions to the planets. Dennis Fradin's Mercury (1990) and Venus (1989, both Childrens) offer more detailed information for young readers, as do Isaac Asimov's Mercury: The Quick Planet (1989) and Venus: A Shrouded Mystery (1990, both Gareth Stevens) for older students. However, the visual drama of Simon's books is hard to match.-- Margaret L. Chatham, formerly of The Smithtown Library, NY
Asimov's Science Fiction
...[C]oncisely delivers up-to-the-minute information...
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