When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman

In this book, a little boy with a fascination for outer space is taken to a lecture given by an astronomer. He is taken by his parents to hear this speaker, he is intrigued by the diagrams and models, but when it comes time to listen to the speech, he becomes tired and bored. Upon completion of the speech, the little boy wanders off outside alone. As he walks along, he realizes that he is surrounded by the very thing he is fascinated by, the stars and outer space. This is an absolutely beautiful book. Loren Long did an exquisite job illustrating this book. The pictures are unbelievably detailed and realistic. I think that this is a great book for older children, however, for children at the lower grade levels, this would be a difficult book to share. The words in this book are minimal and not found on every page. Although the words in this book are powerful it is the pictures that really enhance the story. The illustrations are so detailed that students need to have time to actually study them and enjoy them. Little kids are not going to stay still and be patient enough to take in the beauty of the pictures. I don't believe that they will be able to grasp the words and what they mean either. The only way that it would really be possible to share this book with children would be to not read the words to them and allow them to make up the story themselves as if it were a wordless book. I would use this book in my classroom for older children and possibly tie it into an art lesson and project.