It Started with a Big Bang: The Origin of Earth, You and Everything Else

Where did it all come from? Readers who have pondered the question will find a simplified but informative answer in Bal’s picture book introduction to the big bang and the life that evolved in its aftermath, up to the present day. Prior to the event there is a nothingness that turns into “a seed that will grow into everything else,” which “blows itself up like a bubble.” Van Doninck illustrates the formation of Earth through abstract images of celestial bodies; in its earliest form, the planet is a tumultuous region of angry seas and fiery volcanoes. Slowly, the seas fill with living creatures (“they all want the same thing: to eat and not be eaten”), some of which, “generation by generation,” evolve onto the land. Readers won’t gain a clear understanding of the vast expanse of time passing (the extinction of the dinosaurs occurs just a few pages before the emergence of humans). Regardless, Bal conveys the enormity of the material in a friendly and concise narrative. Ages 5–8. [em](Oct.) [/em]