When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of a boy's fascination with the stars, inspired by Walt Whitman's timeless poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." Loren Long's lush paintings bring the night sky to life, and his two sons' line drawings accompany the text of the poem.

When the boy becomes tired and sick of the academic lecture, he rises and glides off on his own, looking up at the stars in perfect silence.

This book is a great introduction to Whitman's work for children old enough to begin to understand it, and ignores irrelevant texts and information.