MARIA'S COMET (Supplemental Reader)

Harcourt, 1999. 1st Paperback Edition 3rd Printing. Soft cover. As New/No Jacket Issued. Deorah Lanino color illustrations. CONDITION: UNREAD, but not quite perfect, 1999 Harcourt paperback (school supplemental reader), first paperback edition, 3rd printing. There is a "wrinkle" on the back cover - production, most likely, and it does not affect the cover panel at all. Color illustrations by Deborah Lanino. CONTENT: Loosely based on the childhood of Maria (pronounced ma-RYE-ah) Mitchell, America's first woman astronomer, and illuminated by Deborah Lanino's star-swept illustrations, here is an exquisitely told story of a girl who yearns for adventure beyond her limited circumstances, and sets out to follow her heart. Maria longs to be an astronomer -- wish that burns as brightly as a star. But girls in the nineteenth century don't grow up to be scientists, especially those who are needed at home. Each night when her papa sweeps the sky with his telescope, Maria sweeps the floor below, imagining all the strange worlds he can travel to from the rooftop of their Nantucket home. Then one night Maria finally gets her chance to look through her papa's telescope. For the first time, she beholds the night sky stretching endlessly above her, and her dream of exploring the comets and constellations seems close enough to touch.