Awards

• 2021 Sakura Medal Longlist
• ILA Nonfiction Honor Book
• NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12

Overview

Describing the birth of the universe in a compelling, accessible way, the astrophysicist author presents a picture book Carl Sagan would love, introducing the wonder of our pale blue dot to the youngest readers.

Full Product Details

9781939547644

Table of Contents

Reviews

An astrophysicist goes back to our cosmic origins: 'Once upon a time, / we don't know.' 'Maybe it was dark. / Maybe there was nothing.' Carefully distinguishing verifiable fact from informed speculation, Stahl ushers readers past the first second of the Big Bang through the transformation of plasma to matter, then the appearance of swirling galaxies and their stars and planets, and finally to a planet that's 'just right' for 'you. / And everyone else.' In her suitably dramatic illustrations, Allen-Fletcher modulates from flat black pages to shimmering blasts of light and fiery stellar nurseries that give way to a misty blue Earth, with an indistinct figure in a dim bedroom scene hung with glow-in-the-dark stars--and, accompanying the author's suggestion that there may be more than one planet that's 'just right, ' a pointy eared silhouette likewise looking up into a starlit sky. Unlike James Carter's similarly wonder-infused Once Upon a Star, illustrated by Mar Hernandez (2018), the dizzying notion that the Big Bang marked the beginnings of time and space themselves as well as matter goes unremarked here...but in an expansive afterword the author urges readers to ask big questions like 'What am I?' and 'Where am I?' because they 'cut to the heart of how much we understand about the universe.' A stately recap drawing on current physics and astronomy and appropriately cognizant of their limitations. --Kirkus Reviews --Journal Stahl offers a contemplative yet informative examination of the Big Bang. With brief text and mixed-media illustration that are strategically shadowy or explosively bright, scientific knowledge is shared in direct conversation with readers. The narrative begins with a child wearing space-themed pajamas and gazing at the night sky, then delves into facts about galaxies and stars accompanied by artwork featuring whorls of colorful light. The story's focus returns to the child in their bed (reading The Big Bang Book) accompanied by the text, 'And on that planet is you. And everyone else.' The author, a doctoral student in astrophysics, ends the book with a note acknowledging the gaps in scientific knowledge while also sharing detailed mathematical and astronomical facts about the universe. VERDICT In a crowded field of Earth-origin and evolution stories for children, this is well worth a look for its simple, but not vague, approach to the topic. Alongside Marion Dane Bauer's and Ekua Holmes's poetic The Stuff of Stars, it will awaken young readers' curiosity. --School Library Journal --Journal

An astrophysicist goes back to our cosmic origins: 'Once upon a time, / we don't know.' 'Maybe it was dark. / Maybe there was nothing.' Carefully distinguishing verifiable fact from informed speculation, Stahl ushers readers past the first second of the Big Bang through the transformation of plasma to matter, then the appearance of swirling galaxies and their stars and planets, and finally to a planet that's 'just right' for 'you. / And everyone else.' In her suitably dramatic illustrations, Allen-Fletcher modulates from flat black pages to shimmering blasts of light and fiery stellar nurseries that give way to a misty blue Earth, with an indistinct figure in a dim bedroom scene hung with glow-in-the-dark stars--and, accompanying the author's suggestion that there may be more than one planet that's 'just right, ' a pointy eared silhouette likewise looking up into a starlit sky. Unlike James Carter's similarly wonder-infused Once Upon a Star, illustrated by Mar Hernandez (2018), the dizzying notion that the Big Bang marked the beginnings of time and space themselves as well as matter goes unremarked here...but in an expansive afterword the author urges readers to ask big questions like 'What am I?' and 'Where am I?' because they 'cut to the heart of how much we understand about the universe.' A stately recap drawing on current physics and astronomy and appropriately cognizant of their limitations. --Kirkus Reviews --Journal

Author Information

Asa Stahl is an astrophysicist who loves to make science interesting for the youngest readers. His previous book with Creston was the award-winning The Big Bang Book. Carly Allen-Fletcher is an author-illustrator based in England. Her previous books focused on animal and environmental diversity. The Big Bang Book broadened her perspective to be truly out of this world.

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