Lawrence Martin
Gravity Will Always Pull You Down...Unless You're an Astronaut is a fully-illustrated 40-page book for elementary school level. The book begins with a color illustration of a child jumping up and down; the text reads: You jump up and what happens? You come back down. Why? Because of GRAVITY. On each page there is a full color photograph or illustration, with simple text to describe the effects of gravity. Midway through the book we see a rocket take off from earth, carryig the Space Shuttle. Then we see floating astronauts. Why do astronauts float? We learn it is not due to zero gravity, but to the speed of the spaceship as it orbits the earth, balancing out the pull of earth's gravity. The book illustrates earth's tide changes, the orbit of our moon around earth, and orbits of the planets around the sun - all due to gravity. The book returns to the child on earth, who is thankful there is gravity. Otherwise his food might float away, and she would have to be strapped into her bed. The book ends with a simple "Short Quiz on Gravity" that reviews some of the important points.
