Most of us of the geek or nerd persuasion know about and/or have seen Foucault's Pendulum and watched as it etched its pattern into the sand. Though we may know about his invention, I feel safe in saying there are probably few of us who know about his life from boyhood to the advent of his famous invention. While Come See the Earth Turn: The story of Léon Foucault is geared towards young people, it also gives a wonderful concise capsule coverage of his life for those of us who want to know more about the boy and the man.

The major draw for me of non-fiction books for young people is that the authors manage to boil down tremendous amounts of information into a coherent, informative, and entertaining narrative. Come See the Earth Turn manages to start with Léon Foucault's birth manages in 13 pages of text to bring us to the presentation of his pendulum which will prove to the world that the earth rotates.

The artwork is realistic in muted tones that accent and illustrate the text. The background also reflects the time in which he lived. Illustration is more than art especially when depicting another era and scientific instruments and Raύl Allén does so seemingly effortlessly – adding background and verisimilitude to the narrative.

Lori Mortensen ends the book with an author's note about the importance of his pendulum at that time, with a glossary of terms used in the text, and a bibliography for those who want to learn more Foucault and his inventions.