The Universe

Simon, Seymour. 1998. The Universe. New York: Morrow. ISBN: 978-0688153014.

This beautiful book starts with a poetic thought: “The universe is everything that exists, now and in the past….. You are truly part of the universe. Every atom, every particle within you, is billions of years old.”

And with that thought to intrigue them, readers are off on a tour of space, illustrated with gorgeous photographs taken through telescopes. Simon starts with an explanation of the Big Bang and then explains the formation of our solar system. Then he takes readers farther out on grander scales – describing the birth and death of stars, the Milky Way and other galaxies, and finally, black holes and quasars.

The last page of the book is as intriguing as the first, as Simon lists questions about the universe that are still unanswered, and concludes, “[W]ith the Hubble Space Telescope and other new methods of gathering information, we are just at the beginning of a golden age of discovery. No one knows what fantastic places we will see.” In a review in School Library Journal, John Peters says, “This book, along with the others that it leads to, will give children the solid background they will need to understand - and perhaps even participate in - those discoveries.”

Simon’s gift for making informational writing come to life is evident here, as he strives to make readers feel like they are “truly part of the universe.” He gives plenty of comparisons to help readers understand the enormous scales he’s describing (the distance between the earth and the moon is over ten trips around the world!). He also makes it clear how much scientists still need to learn, explaining that the process of discovery itself leads to new questions. This book seems likely not just to give kids facts but to get them excited about the process of scientific discovery and interested in doing it themselves.

Last year at our library, I made a display of space books on April 12th (the date Yuri Gagarin was the first human being to go into space, in 1961). Since all the spring holidays tend to be over by then, it’s a good time for something different, and “Yuri’s Night” has been gaining ground slowly as a global space holiday. This year I’ll make sure to include this book in the selections!

Peters, John. School Library Journal. Qtd. in Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Universe-Seymour-Simon/dp/0688153011/ref=sr_1_82/103-0423122-5982232?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173471844&sr=1-82 .