Totality! An Eclipse Guide in Rhyme and Science by Jeffrey Bennett is an educational book about total solar eclipses. Written for children and adults alike, the book is here in time for the 2023 annular solar eclipse and the main event: the total solar eclipse due to pass over Mexico, the USA, and Canada on 8 April 2024. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring Earth's view of the Sun. Jeffrey describes the total solar eclipse through a crafty rhyme to help kids remember how a solar eclipse works, as well as ensure they safely view one of the most unusual natural phenomena humans can experience. Jeffrey has created a thoroughly fantastic teaching tool for anyone interested in astronomy or planning on becoming an eclipse chaser one day.

Jeffrey Bennett has written an informative book with interesting facts about eclipses. Jeffrey teaches kids the science behind how an eclipse appears, with plenty of diagrams to illustrate the process with several scientific terms thrown in. Jeffrey is a wiz at explaining complicated scientific terms in an easy-to-understand way and even provides a glossary at the end of the book for any of those that need a refresher. Totality! provides parents or teachers with some handy activities to keep kids entertained by modeling the eclipses. The photos in the book offer an exciting precursor to those that can potentially experience the total solar eclipse in 2024. Naturally, Jeffrey stresses safety first, as he explains exactly when and when not to use eclipse glasses. Everyone needs to enjoy this potentially once-in-a-lifetime experience safely. Jeffrey has remarkable skills in making an educational topic like this easy to understand and interesting for kids. If I could, I'd make it required reading in every school.

Totality! An Eclipse Guide in Rhyme and Science by Jeffrey Bennett is a fun and educational way to learn about eclipses and prepares you for the aesthetics of viewing this celestial event. Through its unique combination of rhyme and science, this is an engaging book for kids and adults that helps everyone better understand the phenomena of eclipses and gives tips on the necessary preparations for watching this rare occurrence. The book even comes with a supplementary learning aid—an app called Totality by Big Kid Science that readers can download. Each page of this book takes readers on a journey accompanied by images, facts, and useful terms to maximize reading and learning engagement.

No other book prepares you for upcoming eclipses better than Totality! While its publication has been timed for the coming 2023 and 2024 eclipses, the scientific and historical facts as well as the eclipse-viewing tips presented here are evergreen, and they can well be used as a handy reference for anyone who likes to put themselves in what is called the path of totality. Jeffrey Bennett has poetic stylings that can rival any esteemed storybook writer, and, at the same time, gives encyclopedic knowledge about his subject without any boring bits. There is something so profound and even life-changing about the experience of watching an eclipse. Bennett’s Totality! gives you a great sense of awe while learning about something that involves the magnificence of space, astronomy, and its powerful connection to us. This book is essential because it shows that an eclipse is an important event in our universe and it makes us feel connected to something greater.