About this item
An empowering, inspiring--and accessible!--nonfiction picture book about the eleven-year-old girl who actually named the newly discovered Pluto in 1930.When Venetia Burney's grandfather reads aloud from the newspaper about a new discovery--a "ninth major planet" that has yet to be named--her eleven-year-old mind starts whirring. She is studying the planets in school and loves Roman mythology. "It might be called Pluto," she says, thinking of the dark underworld. Grandfather loves the idea and contacts his friend at London's Royal Astronomical Society, who writes to scientists at the Lowell Observatory in Massachusetts, where Pluto was discovered. After a vote, the scientists agree unanimously: Pluto is the perfect name for the dark, cold planet.
About the Author
Alice B. McGinty is the award-winning author of 50 fiction and nonfiction books for children. She loves to write! Here are her most recent books: the 2019 Jr. Library Guild Selection, The Girl Who Named Pluto: The Story of Venetia Burney (Schwartz and Wade, illustrated by Elizabeth Haidle) , the 2019 Northern Lights Book Award Winner (food category) Pancakes to Parathas: Breakfast Around the World (Little Bee, illustrated by Tomoko Suzuki) , the 2015 Sydney Taylor Notable book, Rabbi Benjamin's Buttons (Charlesbridge, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt) and the picture book biography, Gandhi: A March To the Sea (Amazon Children's Publishing, illustrated by Thomas Gonzales) , which was awarded as an honor book for the 2014 South Asia Book Award for Children's And Young Adult Literature. Her picture book biography, Darwin (2009, Houghton Mifflin, illustrated by Mary Azarian) received a 2010 Orbis Pictus Honor, and was listed on Booklist's 2009 Top Ten Biographies for Youth. Other publications include Eliza's Kindergarten Pet (2010, Two Lions Press, illustrated by Nancy Speir) , Thank You, World (2007, Dial Books, illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin) , and nonfiction books on subjects ranging from nutrition to tarantulas. Alice looks forward to the upcoming release of seven books: The Sea Knows (May 5, 2020, Simon and Schuster, with co-author Alan Havis, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis) , A Story for Small Bear (Oct, 2020, Schwartz and Wade Books, illustrated by Richard Jones) , Bathe the Cat (Spring 2021, Chronicle Books, illustrated by David Roberts) , My Israel and Me(Fall 2021, Kalaniot Books, illustrated by Rotem Terplow, The Water Lady (Schwartz and Wade Books, illustrated by Shonto Begay) , A Synagogue Just Like Home (Spring, 2022, Candlewick Press, illustrated by Laurel Molk) and Truck Says Moo (Chronicle Books, illustrated by Camille Garoche) .Alice was born in Minneapolis Minnesota and has lived in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Maryland, Georgia, Indiana, and Illinois. She's been in Illinois for over 25 years now! A frequent presenter at schools and conferences, Alice was awarded the 2017 Prairie State Award for excellence in writing for children. Alice loves to hike, play the guitar, dance, and read. She's also a writing teacher and coach, runs a writing camp for teens, is a children's book reviewer for the Champaign-Urbana News Gazette, and is a Regional Adviser Emerita for the Illinois Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
