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If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers
"Some things are so huge or so old that it's hard to wrap your mind around them. But what if we took these big, hard-to-imagine objects and events and compared them to things we can see, feel and touch? Instantly, we'd see our world in a whole new way." So begins this endlessly intriguing guide to better understanding all those really big ideas and numbers children come across on a regular basis. Author David J. Smith has found clever devices to scale down everything from time lines (the history of Earth compressed into one year), to quantities (all the wealth in the world divided into one hundred coins), to size differences (the planets shown as different types of balls). Accompanying each description is a kid-friendly drawing by illustrator Steve Adams that visually reinforces the concept. By simply reducing everything to human scale, Smith has made the incomprehensible easier to grasp, and therefore more meaningful. The children who just love these kinds of fact-filled, knock-your-socks-off books will want to read this one from cover to cover. It will find the most use, however, as an excellent classroom reference that can be reached for again and again when studying scale and measurement in math, and also for any number of applications in social studies, science and language arts. For those who want to delve a little deeper, Smith has included six suggestions for classroom projects. There is also a full page of resource information at the back of the book.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2014
6 people are currently reading
818 people want to read
About the author
David J. Smith
12 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
David J. Smith, born in the U.S., is a Canadian writer of children's books.
David J. Smith, born in the U.S., is a Canadian writer of children's books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
September 26, 2014
This book blew me away, from the the gorgeous illustrations to the startling concepts. However, it might be a little wordy for young children.
*I won a copy through a goodreads giveaway*
*I won a copy through a goodreads giveaway*
August 23, 2018
اگر این کتاب رو همون موقع که عشق نجوم و کتابهای علمی بودم میخوندم... وای که دیوانهاش میشدم
June 30, 2014
Full review at http://thebookshelfgargoyle.wordpress... (Aug 1)
I received a digital copy of this title for review from Netgalley.
This book does exactly what it says on the box (well, cover). Each double page spread deals with a particular quantity or size that is difficult to conceptualise and with the aid of delightful and inspiring illustrations, puts things into metaphorical perspective. The concepts include the size of the galaxy, the relative time span of various historical events, and relative wealth distribution across nations. This is a nifty and engaging follow-on from Smith’s original masterpiece, If the World Were a Village that presents some fantastically fun representations of numbers and ideas that might otherwise make your head explode.
Although this book and its predecessor are ostensibly for middle grade children, there is plenty here for older readers to get their teeth into. As well as the parts of the book that contain the “Wow! Isn’t that amazing!” sort of moments, such as the galaxy reduced to the size of sports balls, Smith has once again included information that invites reflection on the social and personal implications of seemingly objective statistics. Information about wealth distribution and life expectancy by continent will prompt the more savvy young reader to ask why such things might be so. Might I suggest that if you are a teacher of children in this age group (or even older ones!) this book will make a conversation-starting addition to your classroom library.
The illustrations are a major drawcard in this book too. The formatting of the information, coupled with the bright, descriptive pictures make this a book that you want to pore over. With information scattered across each double page spread, it’s also designed to be read with a friend.
This is a must-read book in my opinion. I would also recommend it for those who struggle to make conversation at dinner parties.
I received a digital copy of this title for review from Netgalley.
This book does exactly what it says on the box (well, cover). Each double page spread deals with a particular quantity or size that is difficult to conceptualise and with the aid of delightful and inspiring illustrations, puts things into metaphorical perspective. The concepts include the size of the galaxy, the relative time span of various historical events, and relative wealth distribution across nations. This is a nifty and engaging follow-on from Smith’s original masterpiece, If the World Were a Village that presents some fantastically fun representations of numbers and ideas that might otherwise make your head explode.
Although this book and its predecessor are ostensibly for middle grade children, there is plenty here for older readers to get their teeth into. As well as the parts of the book that contain the “Wow! Isn’t that amazing!” sort of moments, such as the galaxy reduced to the size of sports balls, Smith has once again included information that invites reflection on the social and personal implications of seemingly objective statistics. Information about wealth distribution and life expectancy by continent will prompt the more savvy young reader to ask why such things might be so. Might I suggest that if you are a teacher of children in this age group (or even older ones!) this book will make a conversation-starting addition to your classroom library.
The illustrations are a major drawcard in this book too. The formatting of the information, coupled with the bright, descriptive pictures make this a book that you want to pore over. With information scattered across each double page spread, it’s also designed to be read with a friend.
This is a must-read book in my opinion. I would also recommend it for those who struggle to make conversation at dinner parties.
June 7, 2014
Disclaimer: thank you to netgalley and Kids Can Press for a copy of this book.
'If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers' is a fantastic book which helps children (and adults!) visualise large statistics in a manageable and imaginative way. For example, the statement 'If all the money in the world was represented by 100 coins....' is demonstrated by beautifully illustrated piles of coins with different amounts of little people standing atop of them. 40 of those coins would be owned by the 1% of the worlds richest! 40 coins! Seeing that one tiny little figure standing upon that tallest pile just really hit home for me. This book is enjoyable and illuminating for child and adult alike.
'If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers' is a fantastic book which helps children (and adults!) visualise large statistics in a manageable and imaginative way. For example, the statement 'If all the money in the world was represented by 100 coins....' is demonstrated by beautifully illustrated piles of coins with different amounts of little people standing atop of them. 40 of those coins would be owned by the 1% of the worlds richest! 40 coins! Seeing that one tiny little figure standing upon that tallest pile just really hit home for me. This book is enjoyable and illuminating for child and adult alike.
September 28, 2019
کلاً طوطی کتاب های جذاب با ایده های باحال دارد
اگر هم جذاب با ایده های باحال بود
بعضی ها ( مثل من ) بعضی از ایده های اگر را در ناخدا گاه زهن شان دارن اما اگر همهی این ایده های افراد را جمع آوری کرده و کرده است یک کتاب
این کتاب به کسانی که درصد بندی و نسبت را دوست دارند و ازش توی مغزشان ناخداگاه استفاده می کنند پیشنهاد می کنم
اگر هم جذاب با ایده های باحال بود
بعضی ها ( مثل من ) بعضی از ایده های اگر را در ناخدا گاه زهن شان دارن اما اگر همهی این ایده های افراد را جمع آوری کرده و کرده است یک کتاب
این کتاب به کسانی که درصد بندی و نسبت را دوست دارند و ازش توی مغزشان ناخداگاه استفاده می کنند پیشنهاد می کنم
October 11, 2018
کتابی برای این که دقیقا بفهمید چقدر کوچکیم، چقدر فقیریم، چقدر ناچیز و بی اهمیتیم، و در ین حال برای این که بفهمیم چقدر خفنیم!
December 23, 2022
tui đọc cuốn này cùng bé Ngọc, bé 9 tuổi và cảm thấy cuốn này thật mới lạ và thú zị. Tui lớn ròi nên thấy nó bình thường thui nhưng vì bé hào hứng nên tui cũng thấy vui. Mua cho các bé cũng zui.
December 4, 2014
A superb book that makes it easier for children (and adults!) to understand some facts that are either so huge or so old by relating them to more familiar things they can see and touch. For example, the relative sizes of planets in our solar system are compared by each being shown as a different type of ball.
The brilliant illustrations help increase comprehension of amazing facts and figures, using scales, maps, timelines, everyday objects and items. There are additional ideas for parents and teachers to follow up and utilise similar techniques for other huge facts and figures. I could easily see teachers using this book as a starting point for exploring other huge facts and getting their pupils to develop their own analogies to make them more comprehensible to others - brilliant!
Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley too
for letting me read this book in exchange for this, an honest review.
The brilliant illustrations help increase comprehension of amazing facts and figures, using scales, maps, timelines, everyday objects and items. There are additional ideas for parents and teachers to follow up and utilise similar techniques for other huge facts and figures. I could easily see teachers using this book as a starting point for exploring other huge facts and getting their pupils to develop their own analogies to make them more comprehensible to others - brilliant!
Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley too
for letting me read this book in exchange for this, an honest review.
August 15, 2014
Science is so cool, and so is history, don't you think? Particularly when you can take something very difficult to wrap one's head around (How far away is Saturn? How big is it?) and put it into everyday terms (distances on a football field, or days on a calendar). If . . . will bend your mind in exciting ways, giving you new ways to contemplate things you may already know. An excellent diving-in point for kids and classroom teachers!
April 30, 2018
3.5ish stars.
A little bit TL;DR. Some pages were more interesting than others, but some of them were really fascinating. Some pages did provide a mind-bending new way of looking at things as the title promises.
Illustrations: 3.5
Story: 3.5
A little bit TL;DR. Some pages were more interesting than others, but some of them were really fascinating. Some pages did provide a mind-bending new way of looking at things as the title promises.
Illustrations: 3.5
Story: 3.5
September 6, 2014
Great job reducing difficult concepts and huge numbers to concepts children can appreciate and understand.
September 19, 2014
Awesome way to present important and interesting facts and ideas to young readers. Definitely one of my favorites (for children) of 2014!
April 7, 2018
“If…A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers” by David Smith is a must have for children (and adults) who are fascinated by the complexity of our world and universe. Even as an adult, some of the concepts of time and size are hard to imagine, and for children even more difficult to understand. Through both text features and beautiful illustrations, “If…” provides children and adults with relatable items to grasp just how large our solar system is (and how small we are!), how large our Earth’s continents are (using the pages of the book), and portraying the amount of fresh and salt water found on Earth using cups. Again, conceptualizing such hard to imagine facts in a more realistic manner helps children (and adults) appreciate how incredible our world and universe is. This nonfiction book would be perfect for students in grades three and higher.
To assist readers in understanding the concepts of this book further, teachers could provide tangible items to drive these facts home. For example, Smith describes the size of our Solar System’s planets using easy to find sports balls (baseball, ping pong ball, and a beach ball). When studying the Solar System, teachers could provide students with these balls, and have students stand with the balls in the classroom in the appropriate order of the planets. Those ambitious teachers could also go a step further and measure the length of the classroom and determine how far away each student would need to stand to accurately represent the size of our Solar System!
For older students, exploring the concept of energy is one that may promote more environmental awareness among our students. Although I am aware that many of these resources we use are non-reusable, I am truly astonished just how much we consume. For some students, they may not be aware just how precious these resources are, and how much of these resources we use. Therefore, older students could research the various energy sources listed on this page, and whether this energy is reusable or non-reusable. The hope of this project, while educational, will open students’ eyes to just how quickly we are depleting our Earth’s resources.
With beautiful illustrations and facts conceptualized into easier to understand ideas, this book is perfect for children exploring the concepts of size, distance, and time (to name a few). Smith also provides readers with additional activities at the end of the book for teachers and parents to explore. This book is perfect for any science curriculum (in grades three and higher)!
This book was accessed online through Epic! – Books for Kids (www.getepic.com)
To assist readers in understanding the concepts of this book further, teachers could provide tangible items to drive these facts home. For example, Smith describes the size of our Solar System’s planets using easy to find sports balls (baseball, ping pong ball, and a beach ball). When studying the Solar System, teachers could provide students with these balls, and have students stand with the balls in the classroom in the appropriate order of the planets. Those ambitious teachers could also go a step further and measure the length of the classroom and determine how far away each student would need to stand to accurately represent the size of our Solar System!
For older students, exploring the concept of energy is one that may promote more environmental awareness among our students. Although I am aware that many of these resources we use are non-reusable, I am truly astonished just how much we consume. For some students, they may not be aware just how precious these resources are, and how much of these resources we use. Therefore, older students could research the various energy sources listed on this page, and whether this energy is reusable or non-reusable. The hope of this project, while educational, will open students’ eyes to just how quickly we are depleting our Earth’s resources.
With beautiful illustrations and facts conceptualized into easier to understand ideas, this book is perfect for children exploring the concepts of size, distance, and time (to name a few). Smith also provides readers with additional activities at the end of the book for teachers and parents to explore. This book is perfect for any science curriculum (in grades three and higher)!
This book was accessed online through Epic! – Books for Kids (www.getepic.com)
June 28, 2020
Some of the illustrations of large numbers were rather impressive and hard hitting (enjoy the pizza on the last page!), but most of them were like... yeah and so?
June 14, 2018
It was the best book ever. The book teaches lots of new things and illuminates. It shows how big and wonderful our planet and universe is. It also shows how everything on the earth and in the universe is balanced but how and how much human is harming it, what will happen if we keep going like that. The most interesting part of this book is its pictures. They are absolutely amazing. They are interesting, inspiring, and fun. The pictures in the book make you read it several more times. There are recommendations for teachers and parent at the end of the book about what they can do to make things more fun and interesting for children. Also, there is a sources page and you can realize that the book is not just a basic children book but a creation that is created after a hard work and lots of math. Little children might not understand it but every child must experience the beauty of this book.
August 12, 2016
I love this concept! As someone who struggles with concepts of scale myself, I appreciate the attempt to make large ideas and numbers more understandable and relatable. However, I think it could have been executed better.
For me, the "Events of the Last 3000 Years" spread was actually more confusing than a standard timeline. The spread of "The Continents" is also confusing, mostly because South America is a smaller percentage (3%) than North America (4.1%), but the South American portion of the page actually looks large since it's a skinnier but longer rectangle. Similarly, the "Money" page seemed a bit misrepresentative to me: 1 man stands on top of a single stack of 40 coins, to depict 1% of the population having 40% of the money, while 9 people stand on top of 45 coins split into two stacks, to depict 9% of the population having 45% of the money. Technically, the 9 people are on top of more coins than the 1 man, but since the coins are split into two shorter stacks than the one single stack of the 1%-er, it appears at first glance to be fewer coins.
Overall, I think it's a good effort to introduce concepts of scale to kids, and I don't know of many other books that do so. But there's definitely some room for improvement.
Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.
For me, the "Events of the Last 3000 Years" spread was actually more confusing than a standard timeline. The spread of "The Continents" is also confusing, mostly because South America is a smaller percentage (3%) than North America (4.1%), but the South American portion of the page actually looks large since it's a skinnier but longer rectangle. Similarly, the "Money" page seemed a bit misrepresentative to me: 1 man stands on top of a single stack of 40 coins, to depict 1% of the population having 40% of the money, while 9 people stand on top of 45 coins split into two stacks, to depict 9% of the population having 45% of the money. Technically, the 9 people are on top of more coins than the 1 man, but since the coins are split into two shorter stacks than the one single stack of the 1%-er, it appears at first glance to be fewer coins.
Overall, I think it's a good effort to introduce concepts of scale to kids, and I don't know of many other books that do so. But there's definitely some room for improvement.
Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.
August 15, 2014
"If " is an amazing book. The concepts are mind-bending and attainable for finite minds, just like mine.
David Smith takes concepts that are so humungous and so ancient that we cannot even conceive of making sense of them. He is brilliant as he shapes these overwhelming, hard-to-imagine ideas and compares them to everyday things that we can see and are familiar with, thus bringing them down to a level that we can comprehend. Kids will be amazed and very interested as one after another these facts are presented to them. Boys especially will be drawn to this book and both genders will go back again and again to absorb its wisdom. Smith has cleverly scaled down the history of the Earth into a one-year span - (time-lines), all the wealth in the world divided into one hundred coins - (quantities), and the planet's sizes shown by different size balls - (size comparisons). The illustrations augment the concepts and are a welcome addition to the text....as seeing can be finally be believing.
This book would be a wonderful add-on for any classroom. It is always fantastic to awaken the sense of awe and imagination that is present in kids (and adults) minds alike. If you want to learn more, Smith has thrown in six classroom projects to pursue and there is also a full page of resource material at the back of the book to delve into. Highly recommended.
David Smith takes concepts that are so humungous and so ancient that we cannot even conceive of making sense of them. He is brilliant as he shapes these overwhelming, hard-to-imagine ideas and compares them to everyday things that we can see and are familiar with, thus bringing them down to a level that we can comprehend. Kids will be amazed and very interested as one after another these facts are presented to them. Boys especially will be drawn to this book and both genders will go back again and again to absorb its wisdom. Smith has cleverly scaled down the history of the Earth into a one-year span - (time-lines), all the wealth in the world divided into one hundred coins - (quantities), and the planet's sizes shown by different size balls - (size comparisons). The illustrations augment the concepts and are a welcome addition to the text....as seeing can be finally be believing.
This book would be a wonderful add-on for any classroom. It is always fantastic to awaken the sense of awe and imagination that is present in kids (and adults) minds alike. If you want to learn more, Smith has thrown in six classroom projects to pursue and there is also a full page of resource material at the back of the book to delve into. Highly recommended.
February 28, 2015
All about scale, by changing the perspective to something we can relate to better, it helps us understand the actual size or length of time. One of my favorite spreads is about average lifespan - with footprints in the sand as the representation of the relative length of life in different parts of the world. Another favorite was the planets in our solar system compared to different size balls (e.g. ping pong ball, basketball, tennis ball) and lined up in relation to how close (or far) they are from the sun.
If you like this book by David J. Smith, you should also check out these two: If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People and If America Were a Village: A Book about the People of the United States.
If you like this book by David J. Smith, you should also check out these two: If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People and If America Were a Village: A Book about the People of the United States.
July 5, 2014
A unique book that shrinks down concepts that are hard to wrap your brain around to a familiar and smaller scale.
This book was helpful to me, even as an adult and I know I would have loved this book as a child. Besides putting large concepts on a smaller scale for comparison, seeing things on a smaller scale also helps us see the significance of everything we have. For example, "If all the water on Earth were represented by 100 glasses...97 of the glasses would be filled with salt water...3 of the glasses would contain fresh water. One of the glasses would represent all the fresh water available to us." With colorful and imaginative pictures, these concepts can be seen in a new and easily relateable way. If... explores concepts from the galaxy, to species diversity, to money distribution, energy usages and population dynamics. At the end there is also extra information about activities to build more things to scale. A great book for wondering minds.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
This book was helpful to me, even as an adult and I know I would have loved this book as a child. Besides putting large concepts on a smaller scale for comparison, seeing things on a smaller scale also helps us see the significance of everything we have. For example, "If all the water on Earth were represented by 100 glasses...97 of the glasses would be filled with salt water...3 of the glasses would contain fresh water. One of the glasses would represent all the fresh water available to us." With colorful and imaginative pictures, these concepts can be seen in a new and easily relateable way. If... explores concepts from the galaxy, to species diversity, to money distribution, energy usages and population dynamics. At the end there is also extra information about activities to build more things to scale. A great book for wondering minds.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
December 14, 2015
A whoops-should-have-kept-my-Amazon-wishlist-updated acquisition - thanks mom.
Nice art, has the effect of old paint on wooden surfaces.
I really didn't get the "mind-bending new" bit of the way the subject matter was presented. Books and posters using everyday objects to help children grasp the scale of very large objects or numbers have been around since I was a child (so, at least 25 years), and I suspect they predate me by quite a bit.
This was repetitive in places - there are three spreads in a row demonstrating various prehistorical and historical events, for example. What if the last 10 million years were an hour? What if the last 3000 years were a month! What if the last 500 years were a ruler?! WHAT IF I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ANYMORE ARRRRRGH!
A bit US/Western hemisphere-centric, which is okay for me since they say my children will likely be American. It does have the odd side effect of diplomatically including all three "discoveries" of America in the month spread, with the result that 10% of the last 3000 years is people arriving in North America. 'MURICA.
Nice art, has the effect of old paint on wooden surfaces.
I really didn't get the "mind-bending new" bit of the way the subject matter was presented. Books and posters using everyday objects to help children grasp the scale of very large objects or numbers have been around since I was a child (so, at least 25 years), and I suspect they predate me by quite a bit.
This was repetitive in places - there are three spreads in a row demonstrating various prehistorical and historical events, for example. What if the last 10 million years were an hour? What if the last 3000 years were a month! What if the last 500 years were a ruler?! WHAT IF I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ANYMORE ARRRRRGH!
A bit US/Western hemisphere-centric, which is okay for me since they say my children will likely be American. It does have the odd side effect of diplomatically including all three "discoveries" of America in the month spread, with the result that 10% of the last 3000 years is people arriving in North America. 'MURICA.
September 13, 2014
Review originally posted on Children's Atheneum
Numbers are big. Huge. Some are so astronomically big that it is almost impossible to imagine them. And so David Smith tries to narrow it down. Imagine if all the world's wealth were 100 gold coins. How would those 100 coins be distributed throughout the world? Imagine that the planets were the sizes of balls. Taking things like population, the size of the universe, history, Smith scales them down to a number that is easier to comprehend.
Although written for children, I think this book has a very universal appeal, because the truth is, even adults have a hard time imagining how big our universe really is. Numbers are big and this book does a terrific job of making those numbers manageable.
Numbers are big. Huge. Some are so astronomically big that it is almost impossible to imagine them. And so David Smith tries to narrow it down. Imagine if all the world's wealth were 100 gold coins. How would those 100 coins be distributed throughout the world? Imagine that the planets were the sizes of balls. Taking things like population, the size of the universe, history, Smith scales them down to a number that is easier to comprehend.
Although written for children, I think this book has a very universal appeal, because the truth is, even adults have a hard time imagining how big our universe really is. Numbers are big and this book does a terrific job of making those numbers manageable.
August 30, 2014
This is definitely a book I want in my teacher library. It covers many topics including: Our Galaxy, The Planets, Inventions through Time, Species of Living Things, Energy and many more.
Children have such a hard time understanding large numbers. The page about the Planets is something I will definitely be using when I teach our Earth and Space Science unit. The author used everyday items that my students (and yours) can relate to when describing the size of the planets in relationship to each other.
The illustrations by Steve Adams are amazing and very kid-friendly.
This book definitely belongs in your classroom!!
Thanks go out to Kids Can Press via NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.
Children have such a hard time understanding large numbers. The page about the Planets is something I will definitely be using when I teach our Earth and Space Science unit. The author used everyday items that my students (and yours) can relate to when describing the size of the planets in relationship to each other.
The illustrations by Steve Adams are amazing and very kid-friendly.
This book definitely belongs in your classroom!!
Thanks go out to Kids Can Press via NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.
September 5, 2014
With cute, fun illustrations, this book puts extremely large numbers into a new perspective. From the size of our galaxy to the age of the earth to life expectancy, population, food and more, this book gives a unique look at the size of the numbers involved. For example: "If all the enerty sources in the world were represented by 100 light bulbs... fossil fuels would power 81 of the 100 light bulbs." I think this book is fabulous and should be in all school libraries and all public libraries. It is a fun, informative book to share with children and people of all ages. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.
May 31, 2015
I really appreciate the way that David Smith can represent concepts in a way that can be understood (this works particularly well in terms of time - given the age in which humans have been on earth), and then adding into that the various inventions, and very big ideas, such as the differences in water use, energy consumption, etc., around the planet. This would be a phenomenal resource for a wide variety of ages, as it would work not only for introducing these concepts but also provide a springboard for discussing them, as students that can grasp them may then grapple with their implications.
August 28, 2016
This book is absolutely brilliant! A fantastic resource to get students intrigued about the world around them; to give them a sense of size and proportion for things that are far too big to understand otherwise. I learned so much myself! Totally intriguing!
What an amazing resource too to provoke interest, curiosity and questions at the beginning of a unit of inquiry. The examples I came across would fit Where We Are In Place and Time, Sharing the Planet, Who We Are, Who the World Works... and more. I wish I had a copy for each of our classrooms.
What an amazing resource too to provoke interest, curiosity and questions at the beginning of a unit of inquiry. The examples I came across would fit Where We Are In Place and Time, Sharing the Planet, Who We Are, Who the World Works... and more. I wish I had a copy for each of our classrooms.
April 7, 2023
4 stars - This concept, which is huge, was presented in such a friendly way. I admit, I read it twice in one sitting because I thought i might have missed something. We have no idea who immense and minute the universe and the things in it really are, but these comparisons are comparisons a kid can wrap his or her head around and have it make sense. I recommend this one for all libraries. The page to parents and teachers was a huge help as well.
August 3, 2014
If presents abstract concepts of numbers, very confusing to children, in a concrete way of understanding data and information. Even adults will read this imaginative data-driven book and say "Wow! I didn't realize that!"
Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 29, 2014
This gorgeous picture book makes graphical representations of some big ideas, like the size of the solar system, the age of the earth, the size of continents and the ocean (my favorite). The pictures are beautiful and the explanations are simple with out being simplistic. This is going to be a "need to have" for a Montessori classroom.
August 7, 2014
This book addresses a wide variety of topics and breaks down typically hard-to-grasp ideas for students. My third graders will enjoy the different ways information is presented, and I know that the book will spark interesting discussions with them.
December 2, 2014
The author uses everyday objects to explain the scale of such concepts as world population, the solar system, food production, and more...making it easier for children (and adults) to visualize these large numbers and distances.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews