The Librarian Who Measured the Earth Review

Manufacturer: Little, Brown Young Readers
Author(s): Kathryn Lasky

Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 48
Reading Level: Ages 4-8

Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

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A colorfully illustrated biography of the Greek philosopher and scientist Eratosthenes follows his life as he becomes Alexandria's chief librarian, writes the first geography book, and accurately measures the globe's circumference.

User Submitted The Librarian Who Measured the Earth Reviews

May 22, 2008
Fascinating piece of science in history with one man and one book
This is one of my favorite books when it comes to have a story hour with children 8-12 years old (and not 4-8, even though younger children can still be fascinated by the story, the logic here and kind of information requires more maturity!).
This nice biography for children just shows that all this knowledge we have is a heritage of those past great minds. This book talks about a curious and intelligent child who becomes the "librarian who measured the earth". It shows how a library can be the perfect place for curious people to gather information and think and how inter-disciplinary thinking and learning is important. There is science, maths, geography, and much more: the imagination and logic of this great man: Erastothenes.

April 7, 2008
Good Biography and Scienctific Discussion
This book contains a cursory biograph of his life and a good discussion of the measurement technique used by Eratosthenes. The story was captivating for my 6 year-old son.
Through the text and wonderful pictures, the book shows the scientific method used by Eratosthenes to measure the circumference of the earth. The book is a little heavy on theory (lost on a young child). As a science teacher, I would have used this in my earth science classroom to spark discussion with students.

December 11, 2007
Have genius, will measure!
It is amazing how the union of art and words can produce a book so full of wonders. How to count them? How to describe them? Perhaps the bibliography is the place to begin. The writer Kathryn Lasky consulted nine sources for the information incorporated into the story of Eratosthenes; Kevin Hawkes, the illustrator, used sixteen.

Each double-page spread of illustration displays the artist's extensive knowledge of all things Greek and Cyrenian (Greek city on the coast of Africa in what is now Libya, where Eratosthenes grew up). Textile patterns, Greek urn art, linens, palm trees, brick work, plant life, housing, clothing styles, educational settings, musical instruments, mathematical counting methods, colors, architecture, landscaping. These are just a few items from the first few pages. The artwork is truly magnificent, yet part of the story as information. His intense and deep bright colors match the intensity of North Africa.

Lasky also pours information into the story, revealing pretty much what it was like in Eratosthenes' day. As for Eratosthenes, Lasky notes in the introduction that not much is known about his life, but much is known of the Greek world, its people, and its culture. All Lasky had to do was place an intensely curious child into the Greek setting to lay the background for the development of this genius.

As a librarian, I was most impressed with the library in Alexandria and how it was run. Being named head librarian was a real turning point for Eratosthenes, as the library put at his disposal all the information he needed for solving a long-time problem that occupied his mind: How big around is the Earth? Finally, using methods over my head, Eratosthenes determined the earth's circumference at 24,662 miles, just two hundred miles off the correct figure. Solving this problem also meant concluding his book, Geographica, the first geography book of the world.

Measuring the earth is but one aspect of Erathosthenes' life. As a student in Athens, he was nicknamed Pentathlos because he was good in so many areas of knowledge. Eventually, he became tutor to Ptolemy III's son.

This is one of those very special books for children that presents not only a story of an admirable person, but also the absolute beauty found only in the art tools of the most talented illustrator. Lasky and Hawkes have created a must-have book for libraries, both school and home!

March 13, 2007
One of the most treasured books in my library!
"The Librarian Who Measured the Earth" by Kathryn Lasky

This book is one of my most treasured possessions. It is a children's book, but it does contain the mathematics and geometry by which Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the earth to within 2% of the accurate measurement accepted by modern scientists. Eratosthenes did this in the 3rd Century B.C.E. when he was the head librarian in Alexandria, Egypt, ruled by the Ptolemaic kings. [The Ptolemaic Kings were the Hellenic successors to Alexander the Great's empire, after his death].

The book is in a large format, and the color illustrations are lovely, and they enhance the text. The author, Kathryn Lasky has done an excellent job of assimilating vast amounts of technical and historical data and reducing it to form that is appreciated by those without deep grasp of geometry and mathematics. I've looked into some of the geometry which Eratosthenes drew upon to make his determinations and it can be very technical.

It may be that some learned people were well acquainted with the proof of Eratosthenes and that this knowledge was possessed by Christopher Columubs, even as he was pleading with monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, during the very period when their courtiers were developing "Mad Queen Chess" which is the game we play today.

One of the fun things to do, particularly to enhance the learning experience, is to copy the data from this book and enlarge upon it. That Eratosthenes was able to do this fascinates me to no end.

August 21, 2006
great illustrations but munged math
My nine year old can see that in order for the sun to shine straight down every hole on earth, the earth would have to curve around the outside of the sun. Ms. Lasky "simplifies" the math to the point that it is unintelligible. It might take a page or two more, but if you're going to attempt to explain the mathematics behind the measurement, do it right or not at all.

July 10, 2005
We Need More Books Like This!
I'd just like to repeat what the other middle school reviewers are saying about this book--namely that it works with kids. Beautifully illustrated, concise, great for a multi-disciplinary lesson. It covers history in an engaging way and makes students think. I wish publishers would get more books to us history teachers like this one. Teachers who liked this might want to check out Joy Hakim's new science "textbook" which covers early science and math. Every time I look at it I like it more.

March 11, 2004
Great job combining math, history, science & geography!
This is a picture book format biography of Eratosthenes, who lived in Ancient Greece, focusing on how he calculated the size of the Earth using a mathematical formula and measurements taken by measuring shadows and length of footsteps from one location to another. Eratostehenes had many roles and talents, one being that he was a mathematician and author of books on several topics. He wrote the first geography book, which included the first map of the world and the first documentation of the size of the Earth.

The publisher says this is for ages 4-8 however the math concept of the formula he used to determine the size of the Earth was too complex for my 6 year old to grasp. The text is long-ish compared to a typical picture book as well, so I think this can extend a little beyond 8 yrs. if it is acting as a brief biography. I am not sure how many chapter book format biographies are out there for kids 9 and up on Eratosthenes, so this may be better than nothing for older kids!

The colorful pictures are nice and really compliment the text, especially when showing how he thought about measuring the Earth and comparing it to a grapefruit. It also addresses the idea of asking questions, curiosity, and making guesses at answers about things in the world that they did not yet know about.

This is a combination of history, math, and geography with a little scientific thought thrown in. It laid out his first questions and theories and how he came up with different ideas to come up with a way to measure a part of the land. We learn about what worked and what failed, leading up to how he finally came to a method that he thought was accurate, and why he thought this formula would work. His computation was about 200 miles off of the distance we measured in this century!

Within the story we learn about what schools were like for boys in Ancient Greece, that books were in scroll format, what libraries were like (and that they were rare) and other tidbits.

There is a bibliography included that can be used for further reading resources as well. This book is also a great example of how one book can cross over several subject areas: math, history, science and geography.

November 4, 2003
Fun book to read on Eratosthenes
I read this book in order to write up a reading/math lesson related to circumference. I thought that the book was very informative, had terrific pictures, and was a fairly easy read. I think that the children (6th graders) would enjoy reading it in class, if given the chance. I would have liked if the book went over, in more detail, how he determined the equation. (The children tend to ask how he got it!) It would have been useful to know the equation he used, but it does not matter because one's lesson can be modified to use the information provided in the book. I tied in the reading to a circumference lesson and had the children find the circumference of the earth.
Overall, this is a terrific book. I thought that it was a fun read, and is a great teaser when going into a circumference lesson.

February 18, 2003
Great for Middle School
As a sixth-grade Social Studies teacher I needed ways to integrate other subject areas into my curriculum. I came across this book while researching for a unit on Ancient Greece. The book has pictures that are vivid and exciting and follow young Eratosthenes throughout his life until the time in which he "measured the Earth" . My students will find its words complex enough to keep them interested but simplistic enough to follow along. This can be integrated well with math lessons dealing with angles and circumference. I found the book to be extremely enjoyable.

March 5, 2001
Perfect for Middle School Math & "Read Across America"
As a teacher, I've used this book for several years as a "read-aloud" in my sixth grade math classroom. I time it with my geometry units. It's a hit every time. The kids truly love it, and ask great follow-up questions. The book explains the math involved in finding the circumference of the earth 2000 years ago. The language and great illustrations make the math easy to understand. Since the students also read mythology in reading class, it's a perfect cross-curricululm connection. In the past two years, I've timed it to coincide with the "Read Across America" movement on March 2.

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