Pluto's Secret: An Icy World's Tale of Discovery

Margaret Weitekamp · David DeVorkin · National Air and Space Museum

Mar 2013 · Abrams

About this ebook

People, children especially, have been baffled, bewildered, and even outraged by the fact that Pluto is no longer called a planet. Through whimsical artwork and an entertaining dialogue format, Pluto’s Secret explains the true story of this distant world. Providing a history of the small, icy world from its discovery and naming to its recent reclassification, this book presents a fascinating look at how scientists organize and classify our solar system as they gain new insights into how it works and what types of things exist within it. The book includes a glossary and bibliography.

Praise for Pluto's Secret
"Pairing a lighthearted narrative in a hand-lettered†“style typeface with informally drawn cartoon illustrations, this lively tale of astronomical revelations begins with the search for Planet X.†?
—Kirkus Reviews

"This picture book offers a fresh, positive perspective on Pluto, showing that its change of status is not a demotion but a correction."
—Booklist

"Light-hearted imagining of a gregarious Pluto.†?
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Fun reading... The book provides a factual history of our faraway 'dwarf,' and on its companion icy worlds, and on the discovery of Kuiper-like bands around other stars."
—School Library Journal

Award
New York Public Library’s annual Children’s Books list: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013

About the author

Margaret A. Weitekamp, PhD, curates the National Air and Space Museum’s Social and Cultural Dimensions of Spaceflight collection. She lives in Burke, Virginia.; David DeVorkin, PhD, is Senior Curator, History of Astronomy and the Space Sciences, at the Museum. He lives in Kensington, Maryland.; Diane Kidd is an award-winning illustrator of children’s books and is Early Childhood Manager at the Museum. She lives in Takoma Park, Maryland.; The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, maintains the largest collection of historic air- and spacecraft in the world, including the plane Chicago and a copy of First Lieutenant Leslie Arnold’s journal.