Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei

Author: Peter Sis
Illustrator: Peter Sis
Publisher: Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux
Date: 1996
Awards: ALA Notable Book, Caldecott Honor Book (1997)
Ages: 8-12
Topics: picture book, biography, Galileo Galilei, astronomy, mathematics, physics
Summary: Learn about the life of astronomer Galileo Galilei.

Book Connections

• Starry Messenger from the Official Website

Topic Connections

Biography

• Biography
• Inventor Hall of Fame
• Inventor of the Week
• My Hero Project
• CNN Heroes
• Role Models on the Web
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• The TIME 100

Galileo Galilei

• Galileo Galilei from Wikipedia
• Galileo Galilei Digital Images from Wikimedia Commons
• Galileo Galilei Quotes from Wikiquote
• Galileo Galilei from NASA Quest
• Galileo Galilei
• The Galileo Project from Rice

Galileo Galilei's Work

• CCD Images from a Galilean Telescope
• Galileo's Battle for the Heavens from PBS

Space

• 42explore: Astronomy
• Amazing Space
• Eight Planets
• Stargazers
  

Learning Connections

• Be a Critic. Read a short online biography. Critique the article citing evidence found through other sources.
• Biography. Snowflake Bentley is a biography. Learn about someone and write a biography. Use photographs as inspirations for the illustrations. Use the Bio-Cube and Biography Maker to help plan your project.
• Graphic Novel. Use the graphic novel form to create a biography for a family member or historical figure. Incorporate primary source documents.
• Interactive. Try the Galileo Game. How does this connect to the book?
• Key Events. In Life Magazine's Top 100 Events of the Millennium, Galileo Sees the Moons of Jupiter and the Earth Moves is number 5. Pick another event and learn more about it. Which do you think is more important? Why?
• Like the Original. Explore primary source documents and visuals related to Galileo. Compare them to the book. Can use find visuals that may have been inspirations for the book?
• Nominate a Scientist. Check out the article at Life. Find out about a scientist born in the past 1000 years. Nominate this person for the "scientist of the millenium" award.
• Quotes. Pick a quote by Galileo Galilei that you think reflects this person. Use it in an advertisement for the book.

Teaching Connections

• Try teaching materials
  • Galileo's Battle for the Heavens from PBS
  • Galileo and the Inevitability of Ideas
• Try an activity:
  • Galileo Questions

Learn More

Do a Thinkfinity search for lessons related to this book.

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