Ada and the Galaxies

by Alan Lightman, Olga Pastuchiv, Susanna Chapman (Illustrator)

Overview

Stargazers rejoice! In his first book for children, renowned physicist Alan Lightman and collaborators, with help from the Hubble telescope, light up the night sky.

New York Times best-selling author Alan Lightman, in collaboration with Olga Pastuchiv, brings galaxies close in a stunning picture-book tribute to the interconnectedness of the natural world. Layering photographs taken from the Hubble telescope into charming and expressive art, illustrator Susanna Chapman zooms in on one child’s experiences: Ada knows that the best place for star-gazing is on the island in Maine where she vacations with her grandparents. By day, she tracks osprey in the trees, paddles a kayak, and hunts for shells. But she’s most in her element when the sun goes down and the stars blink to life. Will the fog this year foil her plans, or will her grandfather find a way to shine a spotlight on the vast puzzle of the universe . . . until the weather turns?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536215618
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/07/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	737,912
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Alan Lightman is a physicist and the best-selling author of Einstein's Dreams and other adult books. Modeled on his relationship with his granddaughter, Ada and the Galaxies is his first book for children. He is a professor at MIT and lives in Concord, Massachusetts.

Olga Pastuchiv is a children’s book author, painter, and commercial illustrator living in Richmond, Maine.

Susanna Chapman is an illustrator, muralist, and designer. Her books include Elizabeth Warren’s Big, Bold Plans, written by Laurie Ann Thompson. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/21/2021

New Yorker Ada, who has brown skin and curly hair, is delighted to arrive at her grandparents’ Maine island house, where clear skies make it possible to view the stars she can’t see in the city. It’s hard to wait for nightfall, though, even when Poobah describes the way he measures time. “See that big rock over there?” he says, pointing to the edge of the water. “Today, when it’s completely covered with water, it’ll be dark enough to see the stars.” But the weather is unpredictable, and when fog rolls in, Poobah and Ada pore over a book whose photos offer images of galaxies—“a lot of stars swarming around one another like bees”—from the Hubble telescope. “I want to go there,” says Ada, pointing to one. “It would take about a million million years to get there,” rejoins learned Poobah. It’s this dynamic that debut picture book author Lightman, a physicist, and Pastuchiv (Riparia’s River) hold up: what it’s like to gain and share enthusiasm for the wonder that touches every part of the universe. Chapman (Elizabeth Warren’s Big, Bold Plans) has refined a loose-lined wash style that draws power from glowing light sources, creating night skies that glitter and seawater that sparkles. Ages 4–6. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

New Yorker Ada, who has brown skin and curly hair, is delighted to arrive at her grandparents’ Maine island house, where clear skies make it possible to view the stars she can’t see in the city. . . . Chapman (Elizabeth Warren’s Big, Bold Plans) has refined a loose-lined wash style that draws power from glowing light sources, creating night skies that glitter and seawater that sparkles.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Lively, masterful watercolor illustrations capture Maine’s exhilarating currents of wind and water, its spiky evergreen needles, knobby seaweed, and bristly bird feathers. . . . Young readers will delight in seeing our universe’s interconnectedness, and, later, when Ada’s family dashes outside to spin in starlight, they will recognize the inextricable bonds among loved ones.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This sparkling story spins small experiences into something grand. . . . The arresting watercolor illustrations are exquisitely rendered, brimming with detail and warmth. . . . A joyful and dazzling exploration of our universe, on every scale.
—Booklist (starred review)

Chapman uses vivid watercolor and layered photographs taken from the Hubble Space Telescope to visualize the text, showing the wildlife of the island and the wonders of the heavens. . . . Children will enjoy looking at the colorful images and learning about low and high tide, coastal creatures, and the different objects in the sky.
—School Library Connection

Susanna Chapman’s lush watercolors perfectly complement the story. . . Plenty of details on each page—shells, nebula, a fog-obscured cabin—will entice young readers to linger.
—Air & Space Magazine

Ada and the Galaxies echoes Robert McCloskey’s classic picture book, One Morning in Maine, both in its setting and in its attentiveness to the ways in which epiphanies can strike without us even realizing. Alan Lightman (himself an astronomer) and Olga Pastuchiv tell their big-small story delicately, without a trace of condescension or unearned sentiment.
—American Scientist

Renowned physicist Alan Lightman collaborates with with author Olga Pastuchiv, illustrator Susanna Chapman, and the Hubble telescope itself to create a tribute to a loving grandparent relationship and to the beauty of the night sky.
—A Mighty Girl

From the Publisher

09/01/2021

Gr 2–4—While bonding with her grandparents on the coast of Maine with her mother, Ada goes kayaking, observes nesting birds, and gathers seashells. But what she really wants is to see the stars; back home in New York City, she can only see street lights at night. While waiting for the sky to clear, Ada's grandfather, Poobah, teaches her about galaxies by showing her real pictures in books. Ada is awe-struck when she can finally witness the infinite depths of the night sky with her own eyes. Because of their prominence, the facts about space and nature are likely to stick, while the characters are unlikely to be remembered. However, the family, their environment, and the swirling stars are all lovingly depicted in the rich watercolor artwork, which incorporates photos from the Hubble Space Telescope. Careful attention is given to the characters' expressive faces, drawn with sharp black lines; they all have brownish hair and tan skin, and Ama is always shown with her head covered. An author's note further explains the scientific accuracy of the text. VERDICT Worth a purchase for the artwork alone, especially the stunning final page in which brilliant stars reflect in the lenses of Ada's and her grandfather's glasses.—Chance Lee Joyner, Haverhill P.L., MA

School Library Journal

★ 2021-07-27
Ada, a city child, arrives at her grandparents’ Maine cottage hoping to finally see stars in a night sky—one unobscured by urban lights and buildings.

Alongside Ama and Poobah, Ada kayaks, examines moss, handles shells, spots a crab, and marvels at an osprey’s nest, thinking of her stars all the while. Poobah tells her to watch the tidal waterline on a rock to track time; when the rock disappears, night has fallen. Lively, masterful watercolor illustrations capture Maine’s exhilarating currents of wind and water, its spiky evergreen needles, knobby seaweed, and bristly bird feathers. They convey Ada’s emotions too, through vignettes of her agonized squirms when evening fog blankets the stars. Chapman’s impressive specificity dissolves in a magical, breathtaking spread of the fog, hovering all around the cottage at dusk, a murky, muted diffusion of evening light and moisture. Readers feel they’re sitting alongside Ada as Poobah opens a book on galaxies to ameliorate her frustration, and together they admire real, seamlessly incorporated pictures photographed by the Hubble telescope. Ada twirls, emulating the swirl of a galaxy; she notes a crab in the shape of a constellation. Young readers will delight in seeing our universe’s interconnectedness, and, later, when Ada’s family dashes outside to spin in starlight, they will recognize the inextricable bonds among loved ones. All family members have light-brown skin and curly brown hair.

Astonishing artwork shines. (further information) (Picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews