While, as an artist, I appreciate artfully illustrated children's books (and this is one), I find myself swimming against the tide in evaluating Starry Messenger by Peter Sis. It doesn't really illuminate Galileo's life as much as use him as the launching point for an incredible artistic riff. While the illustrations are exquisite, they render the text (written on a very simple second grade level) almost superfluous. Indeed, half the text is in an almost unreadable "Handwriting" typeface, very small, sometimes twisted around. I kept wondering what second grader could even read the thing.

The content of the readable text is, from my perspective anyway, very simplistic, something you would read aloud to a preschooler. And it doesn't tell much about Galileo.

If you're looking for a good juvenile biography of Galileo, and not a coffee table book for children (or the Caldecott people!),I'd recommend Leonard Everett Fisher's much better written book on the same subject. Galileo deserves better than this.

Yes, "Starry Messenger" is one of those children's books that is going to be over the heads of most children, which is ironic given that it is about a man who wanted to understand the meaning of the stars. Certainly the life of Galileo Galilei is worthy of being taught to children, but Peter Sis has geared this one a bit too high, as I think these reviews clearly indicate. After all, few young readers will appreciate that the inclusion of quotations from Galileo's "Discoveries and Opinions of Gailelo," although they will be more inclined to spin the book around to read cursive lines of tiny print written in a spiral by Sis. Fortunately, most children have much better eyes than I do now a days.

The chief charm of "Starry Messenger" for me is the artwork, which certain suggests both the Old World and Olden Days. Several of the illustrations remind me of Medieval and Renaissance artwork I have seen in the past. Again, I am not sure younger readers can really appreciate some of the details Sis puts into some of this illustrations, especially the three dealing with the his trial before the Pope's court. This is a shame because these are pretty powerful illustrations. Ideally, somewhere down the road kids who learn about Galileo and the example of his trial ("But it does move") will return to this book and better be able to appreciate it.

Starry Messenger by Peter Sis is one of the best children's books I have ever read. It captured the imagination of my 5 year old daughter, who loves art and science. The book introduced her to Galileo and presented, in a very effective and compelling manner, the concept of intellectual independence, dissent, and moral conviction. The illustrations are very beautiful, the story told in a deceptively simple yet philosophical manner, and the topic, of course, wonderful. Highly, highly, highly recommended.

I was surprised that this book was rated for ages 4-8. My 6 year old is certainly beyond the one word per page board books. My 2 year old might like it, but my truck-loving 6 year old is totally bored by it.

This book tells the story of a little boy picking up his room and putting all his toy trucks away. As the trucks are put away, they are seen from the little boy's point of view. The trucks become larger on each page, and many different types of trucks are shown in simple, clear illustrations. My child realy enjoys this book, and I do too -- it is humorous and clever on many levels.

Johann's words are weaved into an intricate design that gives one a real peek into the life of Faust. With startling insights and a clear focused writing style, Johann has created a book that is easy to read, informative, and a must for your bookshelf.

I read this book for a college class I am taking. Overall, this is a good book. The action moves at a quick enough pace to hold the reader's attention. I think the combination of a young orphan over coming great odds and outwitting adults, a mystery to be solved, and a mysterious magician will appeal to young readers. I would recommend this book to any 8 to 12 year old boy or girl.

Yes, "Starry Messenger" is one of those children's books that is going to be over the heads of most children, which is ironic given that it is about a man who wanted to understand the meaning of the stars. Certainly the life of Galileo Galilei is worthy of being taught to children, but Peter Sis has geared this one a bit too high . After all, few young readers will appreciate that the inclusion of quotations from Galileo's "Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo," although they will be more inclined to spin the book around to read cursive lines of tiny print written in a spiral by Sis. Fortunately, most children have much better eyes than I do nowadays.

The chief charm of "Starry Messenger" for me is the artwork, which certain suggests both the Old World and Olden Days. Several of the illustrations remind me of Medieval and Renaissance artwork I have seen in the past. Again, I am not sure younger readers can really appreciate some of the details Sis puts into some of this illustrations, especially the three dealing with the his trial before the Pope's court. This is a shame because these are pretty powerful illustrations. Ideally, somewhere down the road kids who learn about Galileo and the example of his trial ("But it does move") will return to this book and better be able to appreciate it.

Buddy Stebbins travels back to the 16th century on a pirate ship with his great, great grandfather in search of his sister - but she's defending another relative against witchcraft! Very exciting!

The Whipping Boy is a strange book about a prince and his whipping boy. Prince "Brat," as he is called commoners, decides to runaway after deciding that his father does not pay enough attention to him. Jemmy, a street boy who serves as the prince's whipping boy, is forced to come with him. Unfortunately for the two of them, the pair runs into a couple of villains, Hold-Your-Nose-Billy and Cutwater, who decide to hold them for ransom. The villains soon confuse the two when he tells the prince to write a ransom letter for the king, and the prince reveals that he does not know how to write. The pair escape form the villains once, but spend the rest of the book trying to keep from being caught. While doing this, they run into a potato salesman and a lady with a performing bear. All is well when they turn themselves in and the prince asks his father to make them all a part of the royal court.
This book tells a good story about a time when royalty often owned such people as whipping boys. Fleischman does a great job of keeping the time period authentic, but adding enough action to keep the reader interested. He also uses dialogue that is easy to understand for young readers, but true to its time. The story also offers a great theme. It teaches children not to "judge a book by its cover," or get to know a person first before determining whether they might like that person or not. It proves to children that teamwork and kindness can overcome evil and in the end, good will prevail.
The Whipping Boy is a very good example of historical fiction for young readers. It offers a bit of historical information along with a fun, inventive plot. This book serves as a great teaching tool and is well deserving of the Newbery Award.

Join Jemmy and Prince Brat in their exciting adventure out of the kingdom and into the world. This great book contains awesome action about the prince and Jemmy getting kidnapped for ransom and how they try to escape. During their adventure they meet many people who are smart and helpful. The Whipping Boy is also fun because the tricks they play on the villains will make you laugh. The setting is in a world a long time ago. If you want to read a great book in about a night read this book.

Prince Horace is called Prince Brat because he is very mischievous. So the king calls Jemmy, an orphan boy, to get whipped instead of the prince because no one is allowed to whip the prince. The prince gets bored in the castle and decides to run away and brings Jemmy with him. They meet up with Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Cutwater, who are thieves. These bad guys kidnap the prince and Jemmy and they think Jemmy is the prince because the real prince cannot write. That helps the prince and Jemmy escape. Then they meet Petunia, a dancing bear tamer and Captain Nips a salesman. Read the book to see if get back to the palace.

I think this story was good because it is pretty hilarious. For example the bad guys almost got eaten by rats. I also liked it because it was not a story with sorrow or unhappiness but it is an exciting adventure. This book has no violence. Another reason I like it is that it is set in the Medieval Age. I would recommend this book for ages seven and up.

Review by Akshay Belur

This story is about a prince who is bored out of his mind and thinks he should run away from home. This is book is good for people who like funny and short books in grades 4 and up.
Some of the main characters are Hold Your Nose Billy, Jemmy, Prince Brat, Petunia, Captain Nips. Hold Your Nose Billy and Capiton Nips are really mean people who like garlic. They kidnapp Prince Brat and Jemmy. Prince Brat is a boy who you think has a perfect life but he does not think so. He thinks he has a boring life. Petunia is a bear who saves Jemmy and Prince Brats lives.
The main part of the story begins when Prince Brat and Jemmy run away from home and get kidnapped. It is set in a forest and in a palace in an imaginary time long ago.
I think the theme is never run away. Just stay home with your family. Sometimes you don't realize how good you have it. Also, learning to read is very important.

Not at all impressed. The story ended abruptly. My three year old son and I were wondering if someone ripped the rest of the pages out

My son loves this book!! We read it several times a day. It is easy to relate to if you have a firetruck crazy child. I also like the fact that counting in incorporated into the story. I highly recommend!

At 18 months, my son couldn't get enough of this book, and at two, he still asks for it frequently. I think the age range for the book is too high, causing the frustration expressed by other reviewers. The simple illustrations are perfect for the younger child, and the counting feature is terrific. For older kids, try Fireman Small.

I picked up this book because I enjoyed The Whipping Boy and like good stories about pirates...I thought this book would be a perfect match for me.

I did enjoy the book, but it felt like it had no real content. The story is the traditional type. A bored young boy finds adventure on the high seas when he becomes unwillingly entangled with pirates. Sound familiar? I found myself constantly reminded of Treasure Island while reading this. If you're just looking for a pirate tale, you'll do better to pick that up.

However, if you've finished Treasure Island, and absolutely loved it...if you're stomping around the house shouting "Shiver me timbers!" and "Avast there, matey!", then you'll find this book to be enjoyable enough. Just don't expect anything too memorable or thrilling. An acceptable light read. It should be noted, too, that the book may appeal more to middle school boys than it did to me. I certainly am not within its target audience.

With Ghost in the Noonday Sun, Sid Fleischman created another story that is a fun read and very memorable. Oliver, who was born
exactly at midnight, gets kidnapped by Captain Scratch to help find treasure that's supposedly guarded by ghosts. Scratch drafted young Oliver for the job because it was said that people born exactly at midnight can see ghosts. This story, as with By the Great Horn Spoon, definitely deserves multiple readings.

Fleischman totally engaged me as a child, and impresses me as a teacher. (This isn't a kiddie book Precocious fourth and up could handle it.) Here he covers whaling 19th century New England while dishing up a funny, thrilling book using the archetypal spunky kid and errant dad combo that appears in many of his works.
Oliver is a self-sufficent boy whith an absent father. In the end, through his own ingeniuity and moral choices, he finds not only his actual father but a genuine father figure: The reluctant wanderer who ultimately does the right thing.
I think this is a fantastic book. My elementary students loved it read aloud. It is so lacking in condescension, so un-patronizing, it is an adult read as well.

I was very happy to find a childrens book about the Komodo Dragon! However, the illustrationa and the story itself was dissapointing. I give it the 2 stars for the subject matter, but I actually considered returning it.

I like Peter Sis' illustrations a lot and I keep buying his books and this one did not disappoint me. The illustrations are delightful and it is fun to explore them with your child. And the whole story has a secret wink for the reader and nudges you on for more explorations.

Peter Sis is a fine artist whose distinct style of soft outlines works well for this lush book. It tells the story of a young boy whose favorite thing is dragons. When he learns that there are real dragons on the island of Komodo (which is in fact true - huge monitor lizards inhabit the island) he takes a plane there. Distressed by the many tourists, he takes off on his own for a very private, magical, fleeting moment of discovering a Komodo dragon in the wild. The book has bits of subtle humor in it - for example, the text deadpans that "it is always easy to find me in a crowd because of my dragon T-shirt" - while the illustration shows a huge crowd of kids that actually demands a lot of searching to find our hero! Preschool/1st grade nature lovers and explorers will enjoy this gently exciting tale. A brief postscript talks about real Komodo dragons.