Star Climbing
PreSchool-K-In this introduction to the constellations, an androgynous blond in white pajamas leaps from star to star, rides upon the dragon and swan constellations, and finally drifts into dreams. The child, while beautiful to look at, is perhaps too much like an Italian Renaissance angel for modern youngsters to relate to. Also, Fancher's text alternately falls short and overreaches, and the constellations are no more than a sketchy focus for an imaginary romp. When, at the story's end, the author explains the animal constellations encountered earlier, she uses language for an older audience (-&#xA6;the winged horse aided in the defeat of numerous monsters, including the ferocious Chimera). Chimera is never described. Zeus is referred to several times in this appendix but only defined at the very end, leaving readers confused. In the note about Cygnus, it is said that Zeus took the shape of a swan to make Leda, queen of Sparta, fall in love with him. This is inaccurate and exemplifies the imprecise writing here. Jacqueline Mitton'sZoo in the Sky: A Book about Animal Constellations(National Geographic, 1998) is a better bet for early explorations of this topic.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NYCopyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.