PPBF: Galileo's Leaning Tower Experiment

Welcome to Perfect Picture Book Fridays, where we review picture books which we deem worthy of mention.  This concept was created by Susanna Hill, and is a helpful resource for librarians, teachers and parents.  For a list of all books reviewed so far, along with activities to complement them, click here.

Author: Wendy Macdonald
Illustrator: Paolo Rui
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Date: 2000

Ages: 7-11

Themes: Galileo, scientists, gravity, experiments

Jacket Flap: The Farm Boy and the Scientist: Every week Massimo the farm boy delivers lunch to his uncle-by dropping it off a bridge onto his uncle's boat. One day, a stranger notices something odd about the way the food falls. The heavier cheese and the lighter bread land at the exact moment. How can this be?
The stranger is the young professor Galileo. Together he and Massimo start to explore the way objects fall. What happens if you drop a feather and a hammer? A rock and a sheet of paper? To test their ideas, they conduct one of the most famous experiments of all time.

First paragraph: Massimo threw a stone off the bridge and watched it fall-plop-into the river. "Hey, Massimo! Why don't you come with me?" called a boy herding a flock of goats across the bridge. Massimo waved. "Thanks, but I have to wait for my uncle's boat."

Why I like this book: We need more picture books that convey a fairly complex concept in simple terms. "Galileo" does that, and retells an important part of history at the same time. The photos are appealing, and the text engaging, as they draw us into the story of another era.

Activities for Kids:

Galileo's Leaning Tower Experiment can be found here.

Fun Activities for the country of Italy here

Leaning Tower activities, here.

Architectural activities here.

Activities for Galileo himself, here.

Enjoy your day!

PPBF: Julia Morgan Built a Castle

Welcome to Perfect Picture Book Fridays, where we review picture books which we deem worthy of mention.  This concept was created by Susanna Hill, and is a helpful resource for librarians, teachers and parents.  For a list of all books reviewed so far, along with activities to complement them, click here.

Author: Celeste Davidson Mannis
Illustrator: Miles Hyman
Publisher: Viking
Copyright: 2006

Age Range: 7 and up

Themes: Architects, Architecture, Biography of Women, Professions, Realizing one's dreams.

Inside flap: At a time when most girls weren't encouraged to think beyond running homes of their own, Julia Morgan dreamed of building them. But in the late nineteenth century, it was almost unheard of for a woman to become an architect. Julia fought to become one anyway, breaking down countless barriers with quiet strength, determination, and talent.

...During a long and extraordinary career, she designed almost eight hundred buildings, including newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst's magnificent castle, San Simeon. With exquisite illustrations, this is the story of a practical woman who never lost sight of her dreams.

First lines: "Julia Morgan loved to build. Born in 1872, Julia was raised in the small California town of Oakland, on San Francisco Bay. Little Julia preferred jumping on the trampoline in her family's barn and chasing her brothers to playing with dolls and having tea parties."

Why I like this book: While I would never encourage a woman to have a career instead of marriage and a family (the highest calling for a women), I love to hear success stories of women who dreamed a big dream, and realized it. Where would we be without ladies such as Florence Nightingale, Betsy Ross, and Molly Pitcher? I love the detailed account of Julia's life, and the tidbits of information at the end about her and the history of San Simeon which were not included in the text. The author also shares her account of how she came to write this book...a plus for picture book authors!

 Links to activities relating to the book:

Tourist information on Hearst Castle here.

About Julia Morgan, architect, here.

History of Hearst Castle as it relates to Julia Morgan, here.

Lesson plans relating to architecture in general, here.

Quotes by Julia Morgan, here.

Now, go out and build some dreams of your own!

Old Homes, Neighborhoods and Friends...

This morning (Friday) we toured the Spanish Governor's Place within walking distance of our hotel. Constructed in 1749, it was the last vestige of the Presidio San Antonio de Bejar (military garrison) close to the Alamo. It was the first town in SA's history, and originally the Residence and working office of the Captain of the Presidio (army post).

Captain Ignacio Perez and his decedents used this home until the mid-1800's, when it was used for commercial purposes, then renovated in 1929 as a museum. The exterior was plain white stucco, one level and unassuming.

The interior had many Spanish Colonial period pieces and other treasures to explore. The wood doors (I love to photograph doors) had a story all their own. Here is an old-timer's story of the symbols on the Spanish doors:

Top right, and down:

The seashells represent the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria as they voyaged from the mother country across the sea.
Dragons represent the dangers the first settlers encountered, and baby's face stood for the new country of America. They brought their arms for protection, and found flowers and plenty in this great land (resources, gold and silver), including the Indian.

Left, from bottom up:

Medallion shows the head of a conquistador, which represented the Spaniards who came to this land of flowers and plenty (flower symbol), and with their arms (the shields) conquered the dangers (dragons) including the Indian (head of medicine man). In this way, the settlers won this land for the mother country across the seas.

I had a lovely treat this afternoon. We were able to meet up with two former HS students of mine who married after graduation, raised a family, and are living in San Antonio. Our family spent an hour or two with them, chatting about the past and present. It was a blessing to see my students going on for the Lord...and meet their growing children, who are also "walking down the right path."

Saturday morning dawned bright again, and we took our last breakfast on the river walk. It was bitter-sweet for me...I have thoroughly enjoyed the aviary circus each morning, as the paths along the river come to life. Our servers have been excellent. We were treated as royalty, and our meals, fit for a king!

People always comment about the hot weather in Texas. It's been in the 90's all week, and is typical of summers here. I did not find it oppressive whatsoever...maybe hotter than I'd like at high noon, but the mornings and evenings were perfect. In fact, it was too cold in the air conditioned buildings for me. As I would walk out of a frigid building, I'd feel the warm Texas air surrounding me like a cosy blanket...a good feeling!

Since we had a short stroll around the King William neighborhood at night on Thursday, the kids and I spent our last morning taking the walking tour of the most expensive real estate in Texas. Only one home, the Steves Homestead was available for an interior tour. We arrived just as the docent opened the door. This area was settled by prosperous German businessmen, and the Steves family with their three sons, were no exception. Edward began a lumber business, which is still in existence today, run by the descendants of the family. Their home, built in the mid-1800's is of Victorian French Second Empire style, and sported the first indoor swimming pool in the city. Many of the latest conveniences and amenities where seen and purchased at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. Much of the furniture has been donated by the family throughout the years.

After a long and steamy walk back to our hotel, we cooled off in the lobby, and waited for the time we would head to the airport. San Antonio has been everything I had hoped for, and more. The people are friendly and laid back, the weather, although hot, is tolerable (the Spring is superb, I hear), the history is fascinating, and the "Texas Spirit" infectious. I hope we will be back soon...you gotta love this "Great State of Texas"!