As darkness comes early these days, and stars appear even before our little ones go to bed, chances are they gaze at the night sky and ask themselves questions like, "How many stars are there?" And as the days get shorter and colder, trees lose their leaves and few flowers bloom, they might wonder why the seasons change,
And they might be surprised to know that in the 15th century, a young prince named Ulugh Beg gazed at the skies over Samarkand in southeastern Uzbekistan and asked himself the same questions. While his destiny was predetermined to be a warrior like his grandfather Amir Timur, the king of the Timurid Empire, Ulugh Beg's curiosity about the world and his love of science and maths was a more powerful push than expanding the empire and so when, at the age of just 15 he became the ruler of Turkistan, much to the disgust of many, he chose to build schools instead of fighting to expand the empire. Inspired by the Prophet Muhammad's words, "Seeking knowledge is the duty of every Muslim man and woman," he aspired to be a great scientist and in time, by observing and measuring the movement of the sun, moon and stars , he determined the exact time of the five daily prayers, the direction of prayer towards Mecca and the dates of the holidays. Samarkand became the home of the world's largest observatory, but his childhood questions still burned in his brain and when he didn't have what he needed to answer them, he invented the tools to do so...
In this new release from the author of a number of books that help non-Muslim children understand the faith's history, heritage and practices, young readers can not only learn about how a young boy charted the stars, discovered the length of a year and unlocked the secret of the seasons - discoveries that changed our understanding of the world forever in a time long before today's technology - but also about the power of curiosity, determination and belief despite derision, opposition and outright hostility
Readily accessible text and illustrations that capture Ulugh Beg's wonder perfectly, as well as backmatter that includes a more formal biography, a timeline of astronomical discoveries, and suggestions for further reading, open up a world of little known but life-changing history as well as celebrating a different hero from another culture not as widely known as others like Copernicus, Galileo, and Ptolemy. And that regardless of cultural, religious, social, economic or whatever background, they too can be dreamers who ask the big questions and become scientists who explore and perhaps even explain the answers.
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats http://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
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From M. O. Yuksel, author of In My Mosque, One Wish, and Ramadan Kareem, comes the first picture book biography of Ulugh Beg, an extraordinary Muslim man who charted the stars and discovered why seasons change and the length of a year, illustrated by Zelma Firdauzia.
Ulugh Beg’s curiosity burned as bright as the stars. He yearned to count every star in the sky, every day in a year, and to know why the seasons change. Fueled by his deep faith, Ulugh Beg’s quest for knowledge led to the creation of new schools, the world’s largest observatory and star catalog, and innovative tools to better chart the secrets of the skies. Although some doubted him, he never stopped searching for answers. And because of his determination, our understanding of the world has changed—forever.
With lyrical text by award-winning author M. O. Yuksel and captivating illustrations by Zelma Firdauzia, this portrait of a trailblazing Muslim astronomer reminds us just how far curiosity can take us.---from the publisher
40 pages 978-0063240155 Ages 5-8
Keywords: informational picture book, biography, astronomer, astronomy, stars, faith, Muslim, determination, Islam, Middle Eastern history, scientist, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old
