Her Eyes on the Stars, great story, but it’s been done better before

The story of Maria Mitchell is a fabulous one for many reasons. It’s about a young woman who has always loved studying the night sky and the objects that occupy its space. In the mid-1850s she was living in Nantucket and she’s noticing something amiss in the darkened sky. It’s a blur, a cottonball blur of a thing that’s set against crystal clear objects that are perfectly in focus. Her Eyes on the Stars: Maria Mitchell, Astronomer is the story about her childhood fascination with the sky; and her young adult life when she sees what just might be the first comet discovered by an American.

When I first read Her Eyes on the Stars, the book felt very familiar. It was as if I was reading something that I knew, but this version was just slightly different. I had to go upstairs to check my library to be reminded that in 2020 a version of this story was published, and in a manner and presentation was far superior to this one.

If you’re just reading Her Eyes on the Stars and aren’t familiar with her story you will certainly be curious about the story of Maria Mitchell. It was a comet that she spied in her telescope, but her receiving the credit for discovering it required a little legwork. There was a contest being held by the King of Denmark as to who could discover a comet that could be seen by the naked eye first. Mitchell sent her scientific observations as quickly as she could, but the bad weather surrounding Nantucket Island delayed the ship from leaving.              

At the same time three European astronomers saw the comet and sent in their observations too. The postal system, combined with the weather, was not Mitchell’s friend, but the Danish king factored those issues into her discovery and awarded her credit. She went on to work at the United States Naval Observatory and blazed a path for women scientists.

The issue with Her Eyes on the Stars is that there are too many words. The book that I was thinking of when I first saw this one was What Miss Mitchell Saw. That book has art that’s more lush and fills the mind with wonder. The text varies in size and dances in tandem with the art, telling a story that is in theory the same, but much more enjoyable.

In addition to the verbose text, Her Eyes on the Stars has art that’s more rigid and clinical. It tells the story, but in a manner that’s less enjoyable, and getting young readers to enjoy the story is more than half of the battle when it comes to illustrated books. Her Eyes on the Stars isn’t a bad book per se. The story is fascinating and if you don’t know what else is out there then it’ll open up a world to an astronomer who broke barriers. However, if you know, then you’ll be going back to the library to look at the book that this reminded you of in the first place.

Her Eyes on the Stars: Maria Mitchell, Astronomer is by Laurie Wallmark with illustrations by Liz Wong and is available on Creston Books and distributed by Lerner Books.

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