YA, NF - The Planets by Dava Sobel, 2005

Summary and Review:
Dava Sobel is a former staff reporter in the science news department for the New York Times.  She has spent the entirety of her career writing, mostly about science.  The Planets is Sobel’s non-fiction book exploring the solar system using a variety of platforms including mythology, religion, science fiction, and astrology to captivate and inform the reader.  Each chapter is devoted to a specific stellar body using a unique theme or vignette to tie the science facts to relevant, interesting and accessible topics.  For example Sobel uses the Greek god Hermes to explain all of the history and science of the planet Mercury.  From its quick movements to the difficulty in detecting its initial presence she weaves the mythology of the mischievous messenger god with the astronomy of the planet.  This book is both entertaining and informative.  Sobel’s narrative is so engaging; The Planets has the factual information of a textbook with the descriptions of a novel.  She reviews so many concepts that are covered in our 8^th grade astronomy unit, but in a way that would capture the attention of students who prefer social science to natural science classes.  Students who excel in the skills of language arts (text dissection, precise word choice, analyzing allusions), but become frustrated with the directness of science would enjoy The Planets.  Much like Michael Pollen’s stories (Omnivore’s Dilemma or The Botany of Desire), Dava Sobel’s The Planets is a story where art and science find harmony.  Oh, and there are beautiful pictures punctuated throughout the book too; who doesn't love pictures?

Craft Technique and Classroom Connection:
Combining elements from the “Close Reading” article with the The Planets I could see several ways of how I could use this novel in my classroom.  While the science in The Planets is well-researched as evidenced by the extensive bibliography, there are some places where new research has replaced older thoughts about our solar system.  “Close Reading” suggests assigning shorter passages for the ease of re-reading, which works perfectly with the structure of The Planets which is divided into chapters about a specific stellar object.  I could see assigning different chapters to groups of students and having them sort out places where The Planets is accurate and identifying or re-writing sections that contain older science.  This would require students to carefully analyze the text, pull thoughts and ideas from the reading, and sort out science from the extended metaphors, allusions and vignettes.  Additionally, students in my class already create presentations on inner and outer planets in our solar system.  I would like to incorporate reading from The Planets as a resource for the presentation, which I envision would enrich the presentations encouraging students to borrow from Sobel’s style of making science accessible and attractive through other mediums.  One of Sobel’s strengths in The Planets is her careful word choice and complex vocabulary, which makes the book really fun to read, especially out loud.  Due to Sobel’s challenging style, I would likely use the book with my enriched classes, which typically contain students with advanced lexile abilities though as I mentioned earlier, The Planets would be an appealing read for a student who enjoys reading.  I would judiciously use this book within my curriculum knowing that it is a more demanding text.  

Connection to MN Academic Standards: 
Science, 8:3:1 - The Earth is the 3rd planet from the sun a system that includes the moon, the sun, seven other planets and their moons, and smaller objects.