DIM'S DICTIONARY OF DYNAMIC READS: Once Upon A Time In Space …


The meaning of life. The beginning of time. Existential significance for human kind. Pretty hefty topics for pre-schoolers and those over 14 years of age. And yet, here are an eclectic collection of picture books that I feel do these notions proud. Funny, informative and touching; the scope is broad as are the concepts but their combined purpose further serves to broaden our children’s minds in the aspects of time and space and humanity. Enjoy!

Ada And The Galaxies by Alan Lightman and Olga Pastuchiv and Susanna Chapman

Ada loves the night sky and not just for its twinkling stars. Yet living in the city can make it difficult to appreciate distant galaxies of stars, let alone see them! So, when Ada spends time with her grandparents at their seaside home, new universes of nature, meteorology and space become accessible in the most spectacular way. Visually arresting and factually fascinating. A gem in the night sky.

Walker Books Australia (Mit Kids Press imprint), September 2021 ISBN: 9781536215618

Charles Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species retold and illustrated by Sabina Radeva

This is a bright and glorious introduction to the man, his meanings and of course his amazing findings and theories. Natural selection is suffused into each page with scientific simplicity ensuring understanding. A sensible yet interesting layout with mixed used of vignettes, full page colour and alternating font shades aid allure and boosts knowledge that evolution is a wondrous perpetual circumstance. Highly recommended classroom reading.

Penguin Books, February 2022 ISBN: 9780141388519

Meanwhile Back On Earth by Oliver Jeffers

While on the topic of packing enough snacks for intra galaxy travel (re. Ada And The Galaxies), this bigger than average (double the normal length) picture book by the incredible Oliver Jeffers is a deep dive into our Solar System so you’ll need to triple your snack quota. Jeffers melts the rigors of a long car journey with young kids into an exploration of our galaxy and Earth’s place within it. It’s a conceptual comparison of (the trivial fruitily of) historic events with space and the extreme wonderful almost limitless of it all. Speeds and distances are matched with the punitive timeline of human existence creating a comprehensible yet mind blowing journey of realisation and wonderment. Easy to share and marvel over.

HarperCollins Australia, October 2022, ISBN: 9780008555450

Scientists Are Saving The World! by Saskia Gwinn and Ana Albero

And just how you may wonder, are they doing that? Delve into this graphic picture book presentation which proposes answers and then dutifully backs them up with facts and the names of those living the scientific dream. Palaeontologists, astronauts, conservationists, climatologists, doctors, geologists and marine biologists are just some of the scientists featured by name and job description. Whether diving among sharks or travelling through time, kids will hang on every fascinating speech bubbled revelation and gain an insight of those saving our world not only from our past and current history but also of themselves; from the very things they ask, watch and wonder about too. The scientists of tomorrow!

Magic Cat Publishing, July 2022 ISBN: 97814913520540

It’s Up To Us: A Children’s Terra Carta For Nature, People & Planet by Christopher Lloyd

Like the magna carta, this children’s terra carta originates from the roadmap of sustainability issued by his then Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales (King Charles III). It is a gloriously illustrated pictorial mandate and promise to our future generations that while the seemingly unstoppable wave of destructive human practises continue to burden Nature and threaten our planet’s wellbeing, all is not lost.

It is a determined and undeterred cry for support. A stirring assurance that if we ALL join forces to preserve and nurture Nature, she in turn will ensure a long and healthy existence for us all here on Earth. It is a plea to listen, collaborate, act and acknowledge that the sum of our efforts will eventually, hopefully, amount to more than the multitude of really dumb thoughtless things we humans inflict on each other and mother Earth. Tactfully divided into parts addressing the big picture, nature, people and the terra carta itself, each illustrated by 33 different artists from around the world, this production includes a forward by HRH The Prince of Wales and the original language of the preface of this important document. Gripping stuff and a useful starting point for initiators of change. 

Walker Books Australia (Imprint What On Earth Books), March 2022 ISBN: 9781913750558

The Comet by Joe Todd-Stanton

Embossed in swirling gold foil and laden with colour-soaked pages, this tale told in first person harnesses the glories of nature, family and imagination. It also encompasses change when a young girl and her father are forced to leave their beautiful country home for the city. The radical upheaval and girl’s inability to share her father’s precious time and stories coincide with her inability to see the stars clearly anymore either. Until one night, she spies a comet and from then on, magic blooms. This lux production underlines the importance of sticking together even when colossal shifts in our universes occur.

Walker Books Australia (Flying Eye Books imprint), July 2022 ISBN: 9781838740658

We Go Way Back by Idan Ben-Barak and Philip Bunting

This is a book about life and how it all began so naturally it’s a little longer than your average picture book. In the most basic sense, it strips back creation to one simple question: What is life? And does so in a clear, concise and creative way. Swirling typeset fonts, colour filled family trees, and the obligatory timeslips back to the beginning of the world mesh harmoniously together making the multi-milieu of magic know as abiogenesis. (I told you some of this stuff was beyond adults!). Fun factual, accessible reading.

Allen & Unwin, August 2021 ISBN: 9781760526085

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




  

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