I received a pleasant surprise in my office mail last week. The author and illustrator of a children’s book, Eclipse Miracle: The Sun Is the Same Size as the Moon in the Sky, sent me a complimentary signed copy. In the enclosed letter, Sand Sheff explained that he had just watched The Privileged Planet DVD with his family. He wrote, “It was the first scientific public mention I have ever heard of the profound reality of the sun/moon alignment.” Sand completed the book a few months prior to the great American solar eclipse of 2017. He drove to towns along the path of totality to promote the message in his book.
It is encouraging to me that someone else came to the same basic conclusion about eclipses as I did following my observation of a total solar eclipse in India in 1995. There aren’t very many children’s books about intelligent design. This is a welcome addition.
This week would be a good opportunity to discuss the “Eclipse Miracle” with your own children; sending the book as a gift would be a good idea too. On June 10 an annular solar eclipse will be visible from parts of Canada just north of the Great Lakes. An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is a little too far away to completely cover the Sun in the sky. It’s called a “ring of fire” when seen at sunrise or sunset on the horizon.
Editor’s note: As children’s books go, another excellent choice for introducing questions of design is Yellow & Pink, by William Steig.