When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer Hardcover – Picture Book, November 1, 2004

Too often we underestimate a child's ability to appreciate quality. We fail to expose them to literature and art worth respecting and assume they can only enjoy the easy and the gawdy. Illustrator Loren Long is the father of two boys and he knows better. His illustrations are wonderful and he knows that children are capable of appreciating the honesty and humor of the little boy who leaves an astronomer's lecture to gaze in "perfect silence at the stars." To underscore the idea that children can participate in so-called adult matters, his sons offer a bit of their own artistic interpretation to this book. What better way to allow children the pleasure of appreciating quality than to introduce them to the illustrations of Loren Long and the poetry of Walt Whitman. This is a special book!

I have purchased this book for all of my extended family members. Loren Long's portraits are, consciously or subconsciously, the answer to most of what ails humanity...ignore pretense, sometimes parents will unintentionally lead you astray, question everything, don't be easily impressed, don't control or be controlled, ignore the masses, listen to your body, inspire change, FEEL!, bridge the seen and unseen, reflect, the truth is out there, the smallest light is most easily seen in darkness. And most importantly, reciprocity in flight. It's all there for those who see and feel with their hearts rather than their eyes and hands.

Absolutely brilliant to recast the speaker of Whitman's poem as a boy who loves rocket ships and telescopes, but when his parents drag him out to hear "the Learn'd Astronomer's" tedious lecture, he quickly grows bored and restless. He wanders off by himself "into the mystical, moist night air," and from time to time looks up in perfect silence at the stars. A children's book grown-ups will love, Loren Long's illustrations, influenced by the artwork of the late 1940s, early 50s, evoke a nostalgic tug reminiscent of "Good Night, Moon."

This picture book is part of a small but amazing movement to introduce children to classic English poetry in a format that both illuminates the poem and makes the language accessible to all. This excerpt from Whitman's Leaves of Grass is wonderfully illustrated to a child's wonder at the vastness of our universe. Each page has a line or two from Whitman's poem, a beautiful illustration, and a few children's doodles. It is a treasure that I will enjoy reading often to my son as he grows.

An excellent introduction to Walt Whitman, one of our finest American poets, for children. The illustrations are intriguing as they visualize Whitman's words. A lovely way to interact with a child using a classic work of literature.

Great art, and i enjoy the short poem very much.

Beautifully illustrated. A great way to introduce anyone to Whitman's poetry. Highly recommended. I showed this to my 11th graders and they even loved it!

This is a gorgeous book: beautiful old poem and rich new illustrations that interpret it in a new and lovely way. Reading this through a child's eyes fits.The discussion in the comments here is interesting. For the record, I'm a science teacher. I love science. I appreciate science. I hope to spark some of my passion for technical inquiry to my daughter. I disagree this poem or visual interpretation as anti-intellectual or discouraging to young scholars. Quite the contrary, this book inspires me to step back from my (very important and valuable) charts and equations and bask in the wonder of the universe. It is that sense of wonder, that artistic truth, that inspired me to delve into the sciences in the first place. Hooray for that.I feel so strongly about both the beauty and the significance of this book that it chokes me up every time I read it to my daughter.More importantly, my daughter (~2) loves the book for the illustrations. Perhaps she does not yet fully understand what an astronomer is, but she already knows what the stars are, and she can already ask questions and seek knowledge, so she already gets the most important parts -- and isn't that the entire point of the poem? Two is probably on the young end of readership for this book. I look forward to more years of sharing "When I Heard..." with my daughter. I highly recommend it for your family, too, whether you dub yourself an artist or a scientist.

My favourite whitman’s poem