"Parents and teachers ask me for the names of books for their primary school children. I'm honored to recommend Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer by Carole Gerber, an excellent book about a true astronomical pioneer."
-Paul Kohlmiller, editor, San Jose Astronomical Association newsletter

Born in 1863 to an affluent family, Annie Jump Cannon grew up in Dover, Delaware, and learned to identify the constellations from her mother. Her love of astronomy serves as the basis for this inspirational and beautifully illustrated story.

A brilliant student, Annie graduated first in her high-school class, then attended Wellesley College where a bout of scarlet fever left her partially deaf. Despite this setback, she graduated on schedule in 1884 with a degree in physics. A decade later, she returned to Wellesley to study astronomy. In 1896, the director of the nearby Harvard Observatory hired Annie to work on a project that would become her life's work: classifying all the stars in the night sky. Annie developed a system for classifying stars from hottest to coldest, which is still used.

Annie's love for her work shaped her life, and she became known as "the census-taker of the stars." Throughout her long career, Annie Jump Cannon earned many awards, including being the first woman to be honored by Oxford University with a doctor of science, and classified nearly 400,000 stars-a world record that still stands.

Carole Gerber is the author of fifteen picture books, three chapter books, and more than one hundred elementary science and reading texts. A former teacher, she holds a BS in English education and an MA in journalism from Ohio State University. In her spare time, she reads, gardens, and practices yoga. Gerber lives in Powell, Ohio.

Christina Wald has provided illustrations for toys, games, books, and magazines. Her wide array of clients includes Scholastic Inc., National Geographic, Houghton Mifflin, and LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a degree in industrial design, Wald resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.

This biography illustrates the accomplishments of a woman who developed a system of classifying stars and who-to this day-holds the record for identifying more stars than anyone else in the world. In 1925, Annie Jump Cannon became the first woman to be honored by Oxford University with a doctor of science degree. In addition to noting the achievements of the astronomer and her contributions to science, the book details Cannon's work and system of ranking stars by heat.