Copyright Date:
2024
Edition Date:
2024
Release Date:
04/23/24
Illustrator:
Wada, Rachel,
Pages:
1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN:
1-7716-4843-0
ISBN 13:
978-1-7716-4843-1
Dewey:
523.1
LCCN:
2022303356
Dimensions:
24 cm
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
A history of the universe, told multiple ways.In Wada's dramatically lit illustrations, an awed child of indeterminate ancestry holds a small, sparkling ball that bursts into starry, spread-filling swirls. The view then narrows from galaxies to a certain small planet's violent beginnings. In time, early life appears, explodes into extravagant spiral rivers of more developed forms, and gives way at last to a final close-up of stars in the dazzled child's eyes. Savage accompanies these images in swirling lines of equally lyrical commentary that focus less on specifics than the continuing and continual "strangeness & wonder" of it all, with "everything / everything / always beginning." Then she retells the tale twice-once in an illustrated timeline with matter-of-fact annotations that begins with the Big Bang and ends with the appearance of modern humans about 300,000 years ago, and again in a straight prose account that connects the entire story to readers: "Everything that has happened," she writes, "has led to YOU. The story of the universe is your story." Despite the different emphases, the parts don't really make up a whole; rather than build toward something, the sections seem largely repetitive. Still, some children may be carried away by the imaginative flight, and others will enjoy the info dump or the ego bolstering.The parts are better than the whole, but the work deserves points for ambition. (Informational picture book. 6-9)
For kids with big questions comes a mesmerizing celebration of the universe and our place in it, perfect for STEM learning. The story of the universe is enough to send our minds spinning with wonder! This awe-inspiring picture book explores the science behind the start of our universe and how we came to be a part of it, from the Big Bang and the beginning of life on Earth all the way up until today. Designed for readers 4-8, Always Beginning includes: Science-based information on how the world was created, and how life on Earth started Facts about our solar system and the Big Bang. Backmatter explaining the science, including a timeline of the origins of the universe through the ages of fish, reptiles, mammals, and humans. Told with reassuring warmth and mesmerizing art, Always Beginning captures the immensity and strangeness of our galaxy.