A lyrical picture story based on the childhood of astronomer Maria Mitchell who shared her father’s interest in looking at stars through a telescope. Although women scientists were uncommon in the early 19th century, Maria’s parents always encouraged her interest in science and math, and supported her educational efforts. In her fictional story, Hopkinson has imagined what might have happened in Mitchell’s early childhood when she was first allowed to look through her father’s telescope. Lanino’s acrylic paintings aptly capture the first stirrings of a young child’s sense of wonder. (Ages 4-7)

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.
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.