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Book Review of Halley's Comet (New True Books)

Halley's Comet (New True Books)
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3316 more book reviews


This book was written just before Halley's Comet was expected to be visible again (in 1986). It takes between 75 and 79 years to return to the sun, so we on Earth can see it. Our family was vacationing in Australia in 1986 and got to see Halley's Comet up-close-and-personally. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I thought this book was superlative. It explained comets and their history. It also showed how the world's communities were getting ready to study Halley's as it neared the Earth. The book did all of this while using a limited vocabulary. It is a library book rated for ages 9 - 12. The color photos were well-explained and were large enough to clearly see what the author was talking about.

One fascinating tidbit from the author: When comets appeared, in olden times, people expected a disaster to occur. In 1066, a comet appeared and the English blamed their defeat by William the Conqueror on the comet (which just happened to be Halley's Comet).