Zoo In the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations by Jacqueline Mitton

Zoo In the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations Reviews

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  Abigail

  British physicist Jacqueline Mitton and illustrator Christina Balit team up in this gorgeous picture-book examination of the constellations. Profiling nineteen stellar groupings - eight from the northern sky, eleven from the southern - the book gives a brief description of the location of each, and of the animal they are said to resemble. The decorative endpapers show a star map of the northern and southern skies...
  
  One of a number of picture-books about celestial bodies from Mitton and Balit - other titles include
  Once Upon a Starry Night: A Book of Constellations,
  The Planet Gods: Myths and Facts About the Solar System and
  Zodiac: Celestial Circle of the Sun - Zoo In the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations was first published in 1998, and appears to have been their first collaboration. I recall looking through it, when it first came out, and, having long been an admirer of Balit's artwork, am glad to have reread it today. The illustrations here are absolutely gorgeous! I would have liked it if there had been more information about the mythological underpinnings of some of these constellation names, or more stories about them, but I still think it makes a good introduction to the general idea of constellations for younger children. For my own part, I have always had some trouble seeing the actual animals, when looking at constellations in the sky, but I still enjoy the idea that others have found such a creative way to identify them. I'd love, at some point, to see some kind of global comparative work, listing the constellation names and configurations from different cultures, over time. Recommended to young sky watchers and star lovers.
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  Amanda Brooke

  This would be a great book to take camping with the kids.
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  Genesis Princesita

  Very clear, the illustrations are really appealing, beautiful I must say.
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  Michael Fitzgerald

  I really wish the stories were more substantial. The illustrations are lovely.
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  Peacegal

  4.5 stars -- What lovely, glittering illustrations and an exciting introduction to the night sky!
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  Nya Savage

  This book explains popular constellations in relation to animals. At the beginning and end of this book were maps of the southern and northern sky with the associated consolations and the animal in which they signify. This book was structured somewhat as poems that describe the nature of each consolation. This book was very creative in the way in which the information was depicted. It matched the beauty of writing and illustrations with the complexity of the stars and consolations. I learned a lot of facts surrounding consolations including that the zodiac signs are associated with consolations that are present at a given time, being the days in which they represent birthdays. I found it fascinating that the well-known consolation, the big dipper, is associated with the Latin word “Ursa Major” and the little dipper is “Ursa Minor”, also known as the Great Bear and the Little Bear.
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  Gabriela Wiborn

  This is a perfect book to include in a classroom for younger students! I would use this book to teach my students about constellations over summer and it was a wonderful tool in the classroom. After we would learn the basics about stars and constellations and finish our activity I would use this book as a read aloud to calm everyone down and tie in our learning objectives from the day. This book is great because it includes old tales on animals seen in the sky through constellations and has beautiful illustrations that are silver from the foil the illustrator used. The kids would always ask to look at the book on their own after the read aloud was over because they enjoyed seeing the individual stars up close and see how they were pulled together to create an image.
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  Melissa Nelson

  This book has great potential for inspiring young minds to want to know more about how the stars got their names. Rated for ages 6-10, we like this book mostly for the beautiful artwork. It is all around a pleasant book to read and look at if you are studying the constellations. The story itself does little to help identify the constellations in the night sky, but the star maps inside the covers are some of the best I have found in a children's constellation book.
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  Laura Weakland

  Beautiful book outlining the animal constellations in the sky!
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  Cindy

  Wonderful book. Beautiful pictures. Both hemispheres,
  Beautiful Premise.
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  Sarah

  
  A book with lovely illustrations for the aspiring astronomer.
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  Sandy

  Beautiful illustrations. Just wish there was more to the text.
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  Katelynne

  A factual read about constellations with gorgeous illustrations. I learned about a few constellations I didn’t know about while reading this! Educational and pretty.
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  Jenna Mills

  Stunning and leads to a great activity where you can make your own constellations
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  Marta Dyet

  Great for when learning about planets (more appropriate for ks2 and above). A cool display board could be made from these illustrations.
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  Veronica Precourt

  i like it
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  Lynne Zotzmann

  Great book to read to or let your 6 year old grandson read to you before heading outside on a dark Lake night to view the stars. The book has beautiful illustrations.
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  Johna Brown

  Zoo in the Sky is a great book for teaching a lesson about starts and constellations. The book has beautiful illustrations that are engaging, and the content is informational and interesting. In the story there are animal illustrations in the sky and I like that. Most of the time when you are looking in the sky, you are able to see pictures or imagine that you see different things. In different parts of the story, I would have my students to close their eyes and visualize what is happening in the story. As a teacher, I would use this story to teach students how to use imagery. Imaging is something all readers do without evening noticing. Usually the author will write a book for you to visualize, feel and hear the events that happen within the story. The purpose is for students to be able imagine the story. I would read the story and allow students to visualize what I am reading without showing the illustrations. While I am reading, I will stop to let students share and discuss before proceeding with the story. Students will share with a partner what images they saw while I was reading. After the class has demonstrated the use of imagery, I will read the story a second time and show the illustrations. This time the story will be read with fluency.
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  Brigid Keely

  "Zoo In The Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations," by Jacqueline Mitton, is a themed book of constellations. It covers a handful of animal-shaped constellations in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The illustrations are charming, and accented with silver-foil stars, and the text is short and informative and easily readable. There are two pages in the back with a bit more science-heavy information that is above the level of a 4 year old (my audience), but simple enough that I could explain terms and concepts.
  
  We were both a little disappointed that the book didn't include the "real" names of constellations (for example, it mentions the big and little bear but not Ursa Major and Ursa Minor; it mentions The Dragon but not Draco). But most astronomy books we've looked at cover ONLY the Northern hemisphere (which is where we live) so it was exciting seeing the Southern hemisphere covered as well.
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  Lagobond

  Gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous!!! illustrations. So much detail, such beautiful colors, and the elegant borders tie everything together. And of course the shining stars are the cherry on top. The text is really soothing somehow. We read this at bedtime, and I found that the night-sky background of the large pictures really works well to help a person settle down for sleep.

  I think the book would be even better if the text portion of each double-page spread were on the same side each time (so the reader doesn't have to switch back and forth). Also I didn't like the black text on a stark white background, because it detracts from the sense of calm that is created by the dark images. This might not have been as much of an issue for me if I had read the book in the daytime, but I think a more subdued color scheme for the text would have made this a 5-star bedtime book.
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  Joella

  I mostly liked this book. But I wished that it talked about some of the other constellations. It tells about "the Twins" (Gemini) that Taurus is after, but it doesn't talk about Orion which tends to be more recognized in the night sky. Perhaps it is because this book mostly focuses on the animals. But I still thought some of the other major constellations (like Hercules or Pegasus) would have pages as well.
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  Erin

  “Zoo in the Sky” tells about several animal-shaped constellations in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Although the text is a little dry and young, it would be a good book to use to introduce constellations and stars. The back of the book contains two pages with more detailed information. It also contains star maps for the Northern and Southern hemispheres and lists which constellations discussed in the book are located in each hemisphere.
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  Tsuyu Ko

  I like to pick a book by looking at its cover first. This book's cover attracts my attention because of the colors that they used. The book is great for young students to read and easy to understand as well. Although it is an informational book, it is written in story form. That makes it easier for students to understand and willing to learn more from the book.