A Book of Planets For You by Franklyn Mansfield Branley

A Book of Planets For You Reviews

• 
  J

  A vintage book about the planets of our galaxy.
  
  The text is pretty simple to understand, especially as easy-to-follow diagrams are included for the reader. At the same time the author simplifies all the information being provided to the reader so that way the information of informative and not a technical book of unknowable jargon.
  
  Since this book was published in 1977 it is most definitely outdated when it comes to the material that it provides to the reader. Some of the items that has changed since 1977 in our astronomy books is the fact that Mercury is not the smallest planet, Pluto is now grouped by an adjective while not considered a planet although that word is in its name and that we know now the great red spot on Jupiter to be a giant storm. Another change with Jupiter is at the time of the publishing of this book there were only four named satellites for the planet, which has drastically changed as well.
  
  Other glaring notabilities about this book is that as I remembered in my own school days Uranus and Neptune are combined in their presentation while Pluto is basically only given two pages since there was very little known about it at the time of this book's publication. Furthermore it is lacking even the indirect mention of the asteroid belt dividing the planets.
  
  A Book of Planets is basically one story from cover-to-cover. After a brief introduction it just runs off into the first planet before merrily skipping through the solar system. The book then ends with information about the planets we knew about as well as the years in which Uranus and Neptune were added to the list while Pluto's inclusion date was in its entry. And then the book ends on explaining why we call our solar system the solar system.
  
  All the illustrations in the book are the most basic of dark and/or basic colors such as white, gray, black and forms of blue. As a result this book isn't one that is of any beauty as can be found with some today's solar system books that draw on actual taken space photographs to illustrate them.
  
  In the end even with this book being as outdated as it is I wouldn't want to say that it still doesn't have a purpose or a need for an audience since it still has quite a loud message of hope. For those who think like me I think children would benefit from reading about it at the start of a curriculum on space and/or science while being given a chance to see how much a field of study can change in just a short while while at the same time encouraging them to continue to seek out the replies that may unravel the next chapter of science that may interest them.
• 
  J

  This was another thrift store find and one that I had my sister get since we are supporters of Pluto as a planet, which it was still old enough to not have to deal with the mess whether it should be a planet or a dwarf planet.
  
  Anyway it was an introductory science book but one that would be a lot better for older children who know how to read already and can grasp the ideas that are included such as the distances. There are parts of the books that are interactive enough that it tries to break down some of the concepts that have been given.
  
  Since of the age of the book there are some parts where it mentioned a mystery to the world of science but as of now it has been partially solved or solved. It kind of had me wanting to jot down other newfound fun facts alongside those older facts but I held myself back. Although in the end it could have done to at least have a pronunciation guide for Uranus as me and my sister argued on that.
  
  Otherwise there are some illustrations but they are mostly sketch so it didn't provide the interesting or bright colors most modern planet books now do. All in all it is a decent starter book, especially for its age and one that can be worked on or help the reader to start in a further direction the study of the planets.