Review #11: Destination: Jupiter

Bibliography

Simon, Seymour.  1998.  DESTINATION:  JUPITER.  New York:  Morrow Junior Books.  ISBN 0688156215

Summary

This book introduces readers to the largest planet in the solar system.  It begins by describing what Jupiter looks like from Earth, its distance from Earth, and its size.  Then it describes the planet’s appearance and composition, its weather, and its family of moons, with special focus on the large Galilean moons. 

The book is lavishly illustrated with color photos of Jupiter and its moons taken by the Hubble telescope and the Galileo and other space probe flybys. 

Analysis

The large text font and limited text indicate that this book is meant for earlier reading levels.  While it is quite informative and accessible for young readers, the need to keep the text simple has resulted in a rather flat writing style.  Despite the use of such vivid observations as the fact that 1,300 earths could fit inside Jupiter’s volume, the text seems dry at times. 

The illustrations are of high quality and are well-integrated with the text.  It should be noted that many published images of the outer planets have been enhanced with brighter colors to bring out the details.  The text only touches on this in one spot, where it mentions that a blue sky shown in a picture of Ganymede was actually added by a computer.

Overall this is a good primary introduction to the solar system’s largest planet.

Review Excerpt

“Expertly balancing the verbal and visual presentation, Simon again demonstrates his ability to inform and entertain simultaneously.”  School Library Journal

Connections

Jupiter has extreme weather, with wind speeds of over 400 miles per hour.  How fast do the winds blow on the Earth?  Would it be possible to build a building that could survive winds of 400 miles per hour?

Jupiter’s moon Europa is covered with ice.  Scientists think that an ocean of liquid water might possibly lie beneath the ice, and that this ocean might possibly support life.  What sort of life could live in that ocean?  Would these creatures be able to see, or would they have to use other senses like some blind cave fish?

The discussion of Jupiter’s rings mentions that they only show up when a beam of light slants through them at the right angle.  Demonstrate how a beam of light in a darkened room can make a puff of dust particles visible.