Big and Small, Room for All - Hardcover

Bogart, Jo Ellen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0887768911 ISBN 13: 9780887768910

Publisher: Tundra Books, 2009

Synopsis

A captivating look at how a child, fits into the great, big universe around us.

“Big sky, big sky, what is bigger than the sky?”

In this clever concept book for young readers, award-winning author Jo Ellen Bogart explores the size of animate and inanimate objects and their place in the universe. She introduces children to the concept of “we” — that humans are a big part of the world, but a small part of existence.

In the vastness of the universe, with galaxies swirling through space, the book begins with simple words printed on the darkness. Moving closer to our world, we see the solar system, our sun at the center. Closer still, we see the huge ball of fire, which is the sun, and the third planet out from it — our blue Earth. From Earth looming huge on the page, young readers view smaller and smaller objects, from mountain to tree to man to child to kitten to mouse to flea to microscopic beings, amazing in their complexity.

Accompanied by artist Gillian Newland’s lavish watercolor paintings, Big and Small, Room for All places the immensity and wonder of space in perspective so young readers comprehend they are part of creation, but a small part of all that exists.

About this title

About the Author:

Jo Ellen Bogart is the author of many best-selling children’s books, including Jeremiah Learns to Read, Daniel’s Dog, and Gifts. She has degrees in elementary education and psychology from the University of Texas, and she now writes full time. Jo Ellen has won the Ruth Schwartz Award and has been shortlisted for the Mr. Christie’s Book Award. Her first book for Tundra was a biography of Maud Lewis called Capturing Joy: The Story of Maud Lewis. Born in Houston, Texas, she now lives in a pet-filled home in Guelph, Ontario.

Gillian Newland is an artist living and working in Toronto, Ontario. She has a diploma in illustration from Sheridan College. This is her first children’s book. When she is not working, Gillian likes to travel. She tends to be the reclusive sort, but you can sometimes find her sketching on the subway.

Review:

“Bogart presents a way for young children to explore the concepts of big and small in a way few picture books address .... Both text and illustrations have a modest sense of the sublime in their subject, one that comes across clearly. A necessary purchase that surpasses the ordinary fare.” - Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
"Youngsters will delight in the awe-inspiring illustrations of the universe .... Word choice is highly suitable for the earliest independent readers. This book will serve as a springboard for discussing the way children perceive size in the natural world.” - School Library Journal


“Big and Small, Room for All is the first children’s book Toronto’s Gillian Newland has illustrated. Let’s all hope she decides to stick around .... Jo Ellen Bogart[‘s] simple rhymes take the reader on a journey from the deep expanse of the universe to the tiny organisms revealed under a microscope .... Stunning.” - Starred Review, Quill & Quire
“Gillian Newland's rich watercolour illustrations are the star of this concept book .... Bogart has decided on an interesting structure, mentioning comparisons of scale in diminishing order. Thus we begin with the vastness of the universe and end with ‘a world of things too small to see." - CM Magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Tundra Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0887768911
• ISBN 13: 9780887768910
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Newland Gillian