The Night the Stars Fell

Fourteen-year-old Francis Olmsted is dealing with some issues. He has been mourning the loss of his mother for a few years and can’t accept his new step-mother into the family, no matter how nice she is to everyone. His feelings about a new girl in the neighborhood are significantly confusing – and he doesn’t even know her name. And his health isn’t good. He’s known to his sister and four brothers as their sickly brother.
Then, in the early morning of November 13th, 1833, Francis’ life was changed forever. He was awakened by his father, Yale Professor of Natural Philosophy Denison Olmsted, saying something wonderful was happening. The entire family bundled up, went outside and saw the most spectacular sight: a constant stream of shooting stars raining down like a waterfall. Thus began six weeks of excitement and transformation. A scientific investigation of meteor showers employing a Nineteenth-Century version of crowdsourcing! Overturning ideas that had stood since the golden age of Athens! A project for the entire family! And, perhaps most importantly, a sweet first romance.

Best of all, it is all based on a true story, with references to first-hand observers of the phenomena such as Abraham Lincoln and the real lives of the Olmsted family.

This book was written for Middle-Grade readers who are interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), early American History and/or what life was like for teenagers nearly 200 years ago.