Review - "A Black Hole is Not a Hole"

Past elementary school, when you could do silly things for your science fair and still get a ribbon, I was never much into science (outside of the occasional science fiction).  My brother was the science fan in the family, and I just know that if he was eleven years old, he would love A Black Hole is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano.  

 

If a Black Hole is not a hole, then what is it, exactly?  DeCristofano attempts to explain this conundrum to kids in this very handy text, illustrated nicely by Michael Carroll.  DeCristofano does an excellent job of explaining black holes, where they come from, how they are formed, where they are, etc, in a way that neither talks above a child’s head, nor talks down to them.  Her approach is rather whimsical, never taking herself or the subject too seriously.  She clearly wants kids to have fun with the science, and she does everything in her power to make it accessible to them.  And I think she accomplished that goal.  This is a great book for my collection, and it’s a great way for kids to get up to date with what’s going on with their universe.

A Black Hole is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami Decristofano, ill. by Michael Carroll
2012, Charlesbridge Publishing
Copy provided by publisher for review