Lasky pens this colorfully illustrated biography of the Greek philosopher and scientist Eratosthenes, who compiled the first geography book and acc...
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Apr 16, 2009
Chak
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Great historical science book for ages 6 and above. It is a picture book, but covers a lot of information without being *too* text heavy on any one page. The story of Eratosthenes is interesting and his curiosity is very inspirational. My son was absolutely riveted by this book, but he is really into anything mathematical. If your child likes math concepts, this is a great narrative which features higher level math in an interesting and unintimidating way.
Aug 17, 2008
Karen_educ250
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How I have used this book in the classroom...
My 5th graders loved this book. It's long for a read aloud in a math classroom (you usually don't want to spend half the class reading), but I found it was worth it. The students had to understand circumference and pi. After reading the book, we tried to determine the circumference of an orange using Archimedes' method. Next, they went on the playground and drew giant circles. I had the students make a table that labeled the circumferenc More...
My 5th graders loved this book. It's long for a read aloud in a math classroom (you usually don't want to spend half the class reading), but I found it was worth it. The students had to understand circumference and pi. After reading the book, we tried to determine the circumference of an orange using Archimedes' method. Next, they went on the playground and drew giant circles. I had the students make a table that labeled the circumferenc More...
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Dec 11, 2011
Tameka
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Title: The Librarian Who Measured the Earth
Arthor: Kathryn Lasky
Illustrator: Kathryn Lasky
Date of publication: 1994
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
ISBN: 0316515264
Number of Pages:48
Description/ Summary: Gr. K-2. This book describes the life and work of Eratosthenes, the Greek geographer and astronomer who accurately measured the circumference of the earth.
Theme:History, language, science, social inequalities, law, government
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Arthor: Kathryn Lasky
Illustrator: Kathryn Lasky
Date of publication: 1994
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
ISBN: 0316515264
Number of Pages:48
Description/ Summary: Gr. K-2. This book describes the life and work of Eratosthenes, the Greek geographer and astronomer who accurately measured the circumference of the earth.
Theme:History, language, science, social inequalities, law, government
More...
Jun 28, 2011
Eratosthenes, an ancient Greek scholar and head librarian of the library at Alexandria, has always been inquisitive and intelligent. Years of study developed in him a particular interest in geography. Using his knowledge of science and mathematics, Eratosthenes decided to figure out the circumference of the Earth. Impressively, there was only a 200 foot difference between his final calculation and the actual circumference of the Earth. This story is commendable because it seeks to make ancient h
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Jul 08, 2011
Christopher
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Eratosthenes was a great thinker who lived over two thousand years ago. He loved to learn and was interested in writing, math, and geography. For many years he was a librarian at the Great Library of Alexandria. His loved of geography drove him to measure the size of the Earth, but he didn’t know how. By studying books at the Great Library, he found an answer and was able to measure the Earth accurately over two thousand years ago, and it was all possible because of his love of knowing and l
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Aug 20, 2009
Jen
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This was an INCREDIBLE book!!!!! My, but those Greeks were amazing! I read this book to my 4th grader and 8th grader and we were challenged by the mathematical concepts, but LOVED digging into it. Arcs and angles and distance and circumference all add up to a really exciting story of how a brilliant Greek man in the 3rd century BC was able to figure out how to measure the circumference of the Earth. Intriguing! Warning...be ready to dig into a few mathematical/geometry principles...if you h
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Mar 08, 2010
Ch_beverlyatwood
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Erosthenes, born in ancient Greece was able to figure out the earth's circumference within 200 miles of the correct measurement by today's sophisticated measurement tools. What a feat, indeed! I had never heard of this brilliant Greek before. And the way he figured out the earth's circumference was amazing. I'm not a math person, but he certainly was. Students will enjoy this picture book because of the great pictures as well as the interesting facts about Erosthenes. I would use it when s
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Feb 07, 2012
Chandra
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Eratosthenes was the chief librarian at the library in Alexandria and, like many men of his era, dabbled in philosophy, science and mathematics. This is a really surprisingly engaging narrative about the man who first calculated the circumference of the earth. I say surprising because complex math really isn't my thing, but somehow Lasky distills the information enough so that Eratosthenes' calculations even made sense to a math dullard like myself. There's also just great information here ab
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May 15, 2009
Ciera
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Most people think of math as 2+2 or 12 - 5...boring. But this book shows how math actually impacts the world and our lives. In ancient times with no computers, calculators, satellites (end of the world, right?!) Arasthenes managed to use mathematical calculations to measure the circumference of the earth...without even traveling all over the world! How'd he do it? That little thing that is a terror to little kids and yet has helped our world tremendously - math. Interested now? you better
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Jan 27, 2009
Kimba
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All three of us really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading it again. We learned a great deal from this tome -- such as Aristophanes was the creator (or at least credited with) of punctuation and grammar. The kids enjoyed learning about the mathematics employed in measuring the Earth and how accurate Eratostenes was with his final measurement. There was so much that I truly enjoyed about the book ... I sure I'll be re-reading it soon.
Mar 06, 2011
Anna
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I thought this was an exceptional book combining studies of the Greeks, Math, and Geography under the disguise of a picture book. Such a great book for understanding real-world application of geometry and history. Great illustrations for young kids and engaging content for older kids who can actually follow all the math applications.
Dec 04, 2011
Dolly
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This is a fascinating tale about the man who discovered a method to determine the circumference of the earth. The narrative is interesting and informs without being overwhelming with details. The illustrations are colorful and complement the story nicely. We enjoyed reading this story together.
Aug 01, 2010
Deb
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This is a great book that simply describes the accomplishments of Eratosthenes. A great story for anyone. Plus the book is beautifully illustrated. I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in history.
Nov 29, 2010
Graceann
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This is a fun book that gives tons of information about the history of Alexandria and the beliefs of the ancient world. It shows the way that a librarian was able to measure the earth using the sun!
Aug 03, 2011
Catherine
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Nice children's book about a librarian at the library of Alexandria who calculated the circumference of the earth to within 200 miles using only some simple trig and basic math!
Apr 01, 2011
Jody
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Awesome illustrated book that I read to my children. A very intereting story that comes from history and we all learned alot. I am amazed at how smart some people are.
Mar 04, 2009
Manning
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Great book about an ancient Greek named Eratosthenes. He was a mathmetician who measured the circumference of the earth. I highly recommend it for any age!
Mar 15, 2010
Starket
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Interesting book to read. A bit over my son's head. It was fascinating to learn how Eratosthenes measured the earth in ancient times.
Sep 16, 2010
Barbara
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I really enjoyed reading this picture book biography. Not a math person? Not to worry! Wonderfully written and illustrated.
Apr 15, 2010
Lori
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We learned about a scientist in Ancient Greece who fairly accurately measured the earth using crude methods that worked.
Jan 06, 2009
Seeing
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This is a fun book to read with your first or second grader. Well written, informative, and genuinely interesting.
Dec 04, 2010
Stacie
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Great historical biography book. Many facts and interesting story. Liked it a lot! Challenging words for younger grades
Dec 10, 2010
Biography: Wonderful illustrations. Taught the story of Eratosthenes in an interesting, understandable way.
Aug 29, 2010
Mary Ellen
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I have fond memories of sharing this with Canaan, Isaac and Seth when we were homeschooling!
Mar 24, 2010
It is a good book. It tells you amazing facts so you should ty this out!
Jul 24, 2010
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
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Well, I didn't know that Eratosthenes was a librarian!
