Book Recommendations for Young Astronomers

By Brenda Culbertson
Director - Washburn Observatory
Topeka, KS

Recently I was asked by an AAAA member to recommend some books about women in astronomy. Eugene is beginning to work with two young girls ( ages 11 & 13 ), and their father, to develop their interest in astronomy. He has the knowledge to help them know what hardware to buy for a first telescope, observing in a light polluted area, simplified star charts, and a technical astronomy book. What he does not know about is a book of inspirational astronomical stories suitable for young girls. This is, obviously, not a technical issue. It is a inquiry about providing vision, inspiration and dreams. 

I have found that to get children (let's not single out girls from boys) interested in astronomy, we need to work with them and let them do it. Books are good for readers, and that is the question, I know, but I have helped several young children (who happen to be girls) get active in astronomy by making them my assistants during viewing sessions. They have sought out books on their own to bring to me instead of the other way around. To answer Eugene's question, here is a list of books that might be of interest when working with children. What I do not know about is a specific book on inspirational stories about women in astronomy, suitable for young girls.

Keep working with the children in whatever ways are successful. Everyone will appreciate it.

Brenda Culbertson

Youth Books
	Peterson First Guide to Astronomy  by Jay M. Pasachoff
	Traveler's Guide to the Solar System  by Patricia Barnes-Svarney
	Space and Astronomy: 49 Science Fair Projects  by Robert L. Bonnet
	Looking at the Invisible Universe  by James Jesperson
	Skywatch:  Eyes-On Activities  for Getting to Know the Stars, Planets and Galaxies by Peter Lancaster-Brown
	The Night Sky  by Dennis Mammana
	First Light Astronomy Kit by David and Billie Chandler
Story Books
	The Woman Who Fell from the Sky:  The Iroquois Story of Creation by John Bierhorst
	A Song of Stars  by Tom Birdseye
	How the Stars Fell into the Sky :  A Navajo Legend by Jerrie Oughton
	Ladder to the Sky :  How the Gift of Healing Came to the Ojibway Nation by Barbara Esbensen
	The Lost Children :  The Boys Who Were Neglected  by Paul Goble
	The Legend of the Milky Way  by Jeanne M. Lee
	Star Tales:  North American Indian Stories about the Stars  by Gretchen Mayo
	They Dance in the Sky:  Native American Star Myths  by Jean Guard Monroe and Ray Williamson Elinda
	Elinda Who Danced in the Sky :  An Estonian Folktale  by Lynn Moroney
	Coyote Places the Stars  by Harriet Peck Taylor

One book that is especially inspiring, both for astronomers and non-astronomers alike, is Leslie Petier's Starlight Nights, the Adventures of a Star-Gazer. It is currently available from Sky Publishing Corporation through their web site at www.skypub.com. You can also buy it through Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. The ISBN is 0-933346-94-8

While this book is not specifically directed at Women in Astronomy, I think you will find it of interest.

Ed Flaspoehler, Vice President 
American Association of Amateur Astronomers 
http://www.astromax.org

About the Author:  Brenda Culbertson AAAA member Brenda Culbertson is Directory of the Observatory at Washburn University in Topeka, KS. This observatory houses an historic 20-inch Warner & Swayzee refracting telescope that Brenda helped refurbish. Brenda writes a regular quarterly column on observing in the American Astronomer, the AAAA newsletter. Brenda has her own web site, devoted to observing the Aurora Borealis and other astronomical pursuits.

 

 

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