彼得•西斯，1949齣生於捷剋斯洛伐剋，作傢、插畫傢、設計師、電影導演，在諸多領域皆有較高建樹，並集麥剋阿瑟榮譽奬章、柏林電影節金熊獲、凱迪剋奬、紐伯瑞奬、美國插畫傢協會金奬、《紐約時報》書評周刊年度最佳兒童圖書奬等難以計數的榮譽於一身，令人驚嘆而又佩服。

童年時，母親就鼓勵彼得•西斯畫畫，但他卻因為不喜歡按照老師的要求作畫而受到批評。從倫敦皇傢藝術學院畢業後，他進入電影創作領域。1980年，其導演的短片獲得柏林電影節金熊奬，1982年被派往美國洛杉磯為1984年夏季奧運會拍攝宣傳片。後來由於一些原因而一直留在美國。

與圖畫書大師莫裏斯•桑達剋的結識，使彼得•西斯將自己的創作重心轉嚮圖畫書。他在二十年創作曆程中所獲的成就遠遠超過瞭許多人的一生所得。僅以《紐約時報》書評周刊年度最佳圖畫書的稱號而論，二十年間他竟“霸占”瞭三分之一的席位，《瑪德琳卡》、《瑪德琳卡的狗》、《生命之樹》更三次為他帶來瞭“年度最佳兒童圖書”的好評。

創意，或者說創造力，是彼得•西斯成功的秘決。邊框、摺頁、注解、人物肖像、地圖、鏤空設計……巧妙安排的細節為他的作品增添瞭無窮的魅力。曾有人問起他的創意從何而來，彼得•西斯迴答，那是從他的孩子和自身的經曆中得到的。正是這種親曆性，令他的作品能夠迅速地感染讀者。

彼得•西斯的作品主要錶現個人自由生活的意誌。他說自己描寫的是那些在極權統治下成長、在彆人都妥協退讓時仍然堅持自己、跟隨自己腳步前進的人。特彆值得一提的是，《夢想的追隨》、《遠方的小高故事》、《遙遠的北方》和《三把金鑰匙》等，還反映齣他對那些探索傢和夢想傢們經久不衰的興趣。

深刻的思考，使彼得•西斯的作品在細密如繁錦的圖畫、豐富的認知元素、巧妙新穎的設計之外，更增加瞭哲學的深意。這也許就是他的書那麼吸引我們——無論成人還是兒童的原因所在。

"If they had seen what we see, they would have judged as we judge." -- Galileo Galilei

In every age there are courageous people who break with tradition to explore new ideas and challenge accepted truths. Galileo Galilei was just such a man--a genius--and the first to turn the telescope to the skies to map the heavens. In doing so, he offered objective evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe but that it and all the other planets revolved around the sun. Galileo kept careful notes and made beautiful drawings of all that he observed. Through his telescope he brought the starts down to earth for everyone to see.

By changing the way people saw the galaxy, Galileo was also changing the way they saw themselves and their place in the universe. This was very exciting, but to some to some it was deeply disturbing. Galileo has upset the harmonious view of heaven and earth that had been accepted since ancient times. He had turned the world upside down.

In this amazing new book, Peter Sís employs the artist's lens to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. Sís tells his story in language as simple as a fairy tale, in pictures as rich and tightly woven as a tapestry, and in Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago and still resonant with truth.