  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 05/01/2019 In 1930, 11-year-old Venetia Burney and her classmates in Oxford, England, study the scale of the solar system, ending with Neptune as the last known planet. Venetia also learns about Greek and Roman gods and remembers how her great-uncle, Henry Madan, named Mars’ two moons after Phobos and Deimos. “What a marvelous link between science and story!” the author emphasizes in this picture-book biography about another hidden figure from science. Soon it’s Venetia’s turn to leave her mark when her grandfather Madan announces the discovery of a new planet. The girl’s imagination spills onto the muted page, puddling splotches of outer space in Haidle’s deep blue inks and conjuring the picture of mythology’s Pluto seated in his frigid underworld. Merging the two ideas, she suggests that this frozen planet should be called Pluto, and Venetia’s grandfather sends the proposal to a friend at the Royal Astronomical Society. As the girl waits to hear the verdict, illustrated panels move time along until the good news finally arrives. Venetia’s accomplishment is sure to inspire young minds. - Copyright 2019 Booklist. School Library Journal - 05/01/2019 PreS-Gr 3—This nonfiction picture book chronicles the life story of 11-year-old Venetia Burney, an appreciator of Greek and Roman mythology who named the dwarf planet Pluto. Most pages are illustrated with delicately and precisely brushed inks in shades of gray. Yet with her red frocks, pink cheeks, and brown bob, Venetia stands out from her peers and family as the focal point of each moment. The story begins in England with Venetia and her classmates following their schoolteacher on a "planet walk." With their classroom representing the sun, the children count their steps as they walk further away from school, using round objects to mark the distance of each planet from their classroom blackboard. At home, Venetia asks her grandfather questions about the solar system. One morning Grandfather, a former librarian and brother of scientist Henry Madan, reads a newspaper announcement about the discovery of a new planet. Venetia knows that a planet so far away near Neptune must be icy and dark, and she thinks of the god Pluto, ruler of the underworld and brother of Neptune. Grandfather shares Venetia's idea with a friend at the Royal Astronomical Society, who in turn shares it with the astronomers in Arizona who made the discovery and have naming rights. In a unanimous vote, the name Pluto is chosen. End papers with labeled constellations in the night sky, an author's note about Venetia Burney, and a bibliography add interest to this thoughtful picture book biography. VERDICT An engaging title; recommended for nonfiction collections.—Lauren Younger, Nicholson Memorial Library, Garland, TX - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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