When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

Leave time for wonder.
Walt Whitman's When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer is an enduring celebration of the imagination. Here, Whitman's wise words are beautifully recast by New York Times #1 best-selling illustrator Loren Long to tell the story of a boy's fascination with the heavens. Toy rocket in hand, the boy finds himself in a crowded, stuffy lecture hall. At first he is amazed by the charts and the figures. But when he finds himself overwhelmed by the pontifications of an academic, he retreats to the great outdoors and does something as universal as the stars themselves...
he dreams.

Author: Loren Long, Walt Whitman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 11/01/2004
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.17lbs
Size: 10.06h x 12.26w x 0.41d
ISBN: 9780689863974
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 2.4
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 83490 / When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer


Award: Golden Kite - Honor Book
Award: Parents Choice Award (Fall) (1998-2007) - Winner


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 11/01/2004 pg. 1047
New York Times 11/14/2004 pg. 36
Publishers Weekly 11/22/2004 pg. 58
Booklist 11/15/2004 pg. 585
School Library Journal 12/01/2004 pg. 138
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2005 pg. 58 - Marginal, Seriously Flawed

About the Author
Loren Long illustrated President Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing; the newest version of The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper; Madonna's second picture book, Mr. Peabody's Apples; Nightsong by Ari Berk; Frank McCourt's Angela and the Baby Jesus; Love by Matt de la Peña; and If I Was the Sunshine by Julie Fogliano. He also wrote and illustrated the Otis series and was part of the Design Garage for Jon Scieszka's Trucktown series. Loren's work has appeared in Time, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic. He lives with his wife and two sons in Cincinnati, Ohio. Visit him at LorenLong.com.

Walt Whitman (1819-1892), arguably one of America's most influential and innovative poets, was born into a working-class family in West Hills, New York, and grew up in Brooklyn. His Leaves of Grass, from which When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer comes, is considered one of the central volumes in the history of world poetry. While most other major writers of his time enjoyed a highly structured, classical education at private institutions, Whitman forged his own rough and informal curriculum, and his brief stint at teaching suggests that Whitman employed what were then progressive techniques -- encouraging students to think aloud rather than simply recite, and involving his students in educational games.