Copyright Date:
2018
Edition Date:
2018
Release Date:
10/09/18
Illustrator:
Goble, Claire,
Pages:
95 pages
ISBN:
0-500-65118-3
ISBN 13:
978-0-500-65118-6
Dewey:
500
LCCN:
2018932102
Dimensions:
27 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
From the creators of Why Is Art Full of Naked People? (2016), a set of equally momentous questions in astronomy, physics, biology, and technology—with pithy answers.Presented in no discernible order, the several dozen questions range from "What is science?" ("Oh nothing much…science is everything, science is everywhere and science is everything that has ever happened in the whole history of time!") and "What's inside a black hole?" to "Can things live on my face?" (Yes.) Doyle goes for an equally casual tone in his short answers, and though he tends to wander off on side tracks, along with picking up some dandy vocabulary ("dendrochronology" "oneirology" "spaghettified"), readers with inquiring minds will come away painlessly filled in on a broad variety of topics. This is not to say that Doyle's facts are always trustworthy—nitrogen is not a mineral, stars do too move, astronauts don't float in space because the gravity there is lower than on Earth, 44,000 gallons of rocket fuel isn't enough to "fill up 42,000 cars"—but they are mostly sound enough. The illustrations are a likewise playful combination of decorative motifs and line drawings of white-faced cartoon human figures by Goble and science art, stills from classic films, stock photos (often comical ones), historical images, museum paintings, and old book illustrations. A few slips but overall a brisk and witty grab bag of science words and wonders. (index, glossary) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Why do I have to wash? Why don't aeroplanes fall down? Where do mountains come from? Why is the sea blue? Why do I dream? This book invites young people to discover more about the world around them by asking and answering questions for themselves. The book is structured around twentytwo questions, each one tackled over two spreads. The first spread explores the question and answer, supported by a detailed illustration, photograph or diagram. The second spread asks further questions on a similar theme to help build an understanding of how science underlies everything from the ingredients in our fridge to reaching the moon. The tone of the text is fresh and informal without being flippant.