Jason Chin (1)Rezensionen

Having explored the vastness of the cosmos in his 2020 Your Place in the Universe, Caldecott Medal-winning author/illustrator Jason Chin turns to smaller vistas in this new picture book. Taking readers on "a microscopic journey" exploring smaller and smaller items—from tiny animals to tiny hairs (vellus hairs), cells to molecules, atoms to particles—highlighting the cosmos inside the human body, and then tying it back into the universe, which is made up of all the things we are made up of. The book closes with an extensive and informative afterword exploring many of the topics raised in the main narrative, as well as a list of sources...

Being a great admirer of Jason Chin—I have read all of the books he has written and illustrated, and a number of the ones he has illustrated—I was excited to discover The Universe in You: A Microscopic Journey, which I somehow missed back in 2022, when it was first released. Needless to say, I was not disappointed! The narrative is engaging, thought-provoking and informative, truly taking the reader on a journey that explores a topic both tiny and vast. The accompanying artwork, created using watercolor, gouache and some digital elements, is lovely. I appreciated the note at the end, which discusses which parts of the illustrations are realistic, and which are not. Removing content from cells, in order to make them less crowded, and thereby enabling readers to better see what he is highlighting; using color, despite the fact that much of the microscopic world is colorless—these choices made sense to me. Recommended to fellow Jason Chin fans, and to anyone seeking children's books about the microscopic world around us that makes up the world we can see.

PreS-Gr 4—This wondrously illustrated guide explores the size of the universe and our place in it. Using the height
and location of an eight-year-old child looking at the night sky as a gauge, Chin creates a cosmic nesting doll. Size and distance throughout the universe are compared, and the text incorporates basic astronomical information.

K-Gr 4—Chin travels from the level of what makes us human down to the building blocks of the universe and then
pulls back out, to the outer spheres of the cosmos. In page after page of cascading spreads, science and poetry
blend flawlessly to deliver information with grace and confidence.

This informational text teaches readers about the Grand Canyon. This book includes small graphs, charts and interactive holes in the pages to show rocks! I would recommend this book to 3rd grade and up. I say 3rd grade because I feel at this age they are starting to understand graphs and charts, so I feel they would be able to understand this book and be able to follow along with the informational stuff about the Grand Canyon.

4/5

This book is a very good informational book that I would say is good for a 2nd grade classroom. The book gives a lot of information about the current Grand Canyon and what life can be found there, but at the same time offers glimpses into the past. It describes what animals, insects, and birds live in the Grand Canyon and what part of it they might live. It gives little bits of information in the margins of every page which adds to the informational aspect of the book. I would use this book to teach kids about the Grand Canyon and about things such as erosion. The last few pages of the book are all informational so if students wanted to learn more they have the opportunity to.

Great non-fiction picture book. Illustrations support the oncepts of size, scale and distance.

I really like this book and I think that this would be a good resource for a young child who is interested in nature and elementary earth science. This would make a great read aloud book.

A children's book in the "Powers of Ten" genre, working in the sub-human size scale, starting with a small bird and carrying on all the way to quarks and gluons, then working its way back up again. Jason Chin's illustrations are excellent and he is nothing if not meticulous. Enjoyable for children and adults.½

This story shows children nature and lets them explore Arizona and this historical landform.

This is an excellent non-fiction exploration of the constituents of life, narrated by a little girl visiting what looks very much like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. It begins with the largest object that will be described, an 8-centimeter long Calliope Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the US. (Guides in the lower right-hand corner of the first two double-page spreads show the conversion of centimeters to inches and millimeters to centimeters.)

The author/illustrator then moves on, downward in size, to the smallest butterfly, the smallest bee, the smallest hairs on your body, and so on, describing successively smaller objects. Each object is meticulously depicted, and is overlaid with text giving details and background.

Thus readers will learn what cells are and how many are in the human body; what bacteria are; and all about the parts inside cells and how they work. They will explore molecules, DNA, and atoms as well as the tiny constituent parts of atoms. Finally Chen guides readers to consider how all these tiny parts come together to make wholes:

“Atoms and molecules combine to make Earth and everything on it, from the air you breathe to the water you drink, from the ground beneath your feet…to life itself . . . All living things, from the tallest trees and longest whales. . . to the smallest birds, butterflies, and bees, are made of cells - just like you.”

He adds, “You are made of the same stuff as everything else in the universe.” And yet, as he points out, you are also “a singular person, who can think and feel and discover . . . the universe within.”

Back matter includes additional background and notes about the text and the watercolor and gouache illustrations.

Evaluation: Author/illustrator Jason Chin is the well-deserving recipient of multiple awards for both his writing and his artwork. This book for readers 8 and over is extremely accessible, with clear explanations of complex ideas and outstanding artwork, making it a natural for the classroom. What kid doesn't want to understand how the world works, asking parents hundreds of questions about it? This book will help with the answers.

I believe that Jason Chin has another award winner on his hands. Yes, I will not be shocked to see this on Sibert lists that come out later this month.

This book teaches sizing and scale using objects in nature that kids will relate to. Like the size of them is equal to 5 books.....but smaller than an ostrich....which is smaller than a redwood tree....you get the idea. There are so many facts scattered amongst the pages, there is something new to discover with each read.

Books that make STEM concepts approachable appeal to me on a fundamental level. I just need to remember that within the bowels on the dewey decimal system there are good books to use....even in storytimes ;)

I have read and enjoyed four other books by this author/illustrator and have a couple more on my to read list.

Kudos to Jason Chin for writing a book with this subject matter that is suitable for elementary school students. I didn’t learn hardly any of this information until high school and college. I “relearned” some things as I read the book.

As usual with this illustrator the illustrations are stunning and the information awe inspiring.

The notes in the back give a lot of additional information. The book proper is not a storybook. It’s a textbook. It is interesting though. I love the creative way the material is presented going from small to smaller & smaller & smaller & smaller and then to bigger again or at least the big picture being seen.

I appreciate the inclusion of a girl in a wheelchair and in the Acknowledgments section there is a note about a foundation that helps individuals with spiral cord injuries pursue active lifestyles. I do understand why the book’s character is set apart from the others at the start. She’s had to take the wheelchair ramp and all of the others have used the stairs but (and this is a nit-picky quibble) I do wish in the last picture that all five characters were placed in close proximity and that the main character was not still off more on her own. I don’t think showing her that way is necessary to indicate that she is the main character.

GREAT!!

Synergy: Microscopic Scale

MICROSCOPIC SCALE examines the size of things that are smaller than can be seen by the naked eye. To view these objects and events requires a microscope or other specialized lens.

Read the recently published nonfiction picture book for children, then learn more at the websites:

THE UNIVERSE IN YOU: A MICROSCOPIC JOURNEY by Jason Chin takes picture book readers on a scientific adventure from the smallest bird and skin cells to atoms and molecules. Chin combines beautiful illustrations with an engaging life science story to bring the microscopic world alive for children. The book concludes with useful scientific explanations for adults reading with children. ARC courtesy of Neal Porter Books.

THE MICROSCOPIC SCALE from Science Learning Hub provides an overview of key concepts, a glossary, and related information. To visit the website, go to https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/497-the-microscopic-scale

SMALL WORLD PHOTOMICROGRAPHY from shares outstanding examples of images recorded through a light microscope. Use these images to jumpstart a discussion about microscopic scale. To visit the website, go to https://www.nikonsmallworld.com//galleries/photomicrography-competition

See also: Your Place in the Universe by same author

In what looks like a southwestern U.S. desert landscape, a girl with dark braids who uses a wheelchair notices a Calliope Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the United States. But even smaller than the bird is the Western Pygmy Blue butterfly... Chin takes the reader step by step, all the way down to cells and atoms. Helpful secondary text provides labels, measurements ("a millimeter is 10 times smaller than a centimeter"), and additional facts, while the primary text is both factual and poetic ("You are made of the same stuff as everything else in the universe, Your body is made of the same particles that make stars").

Back matter is rich, detailed, and advanced, including the periodic table of elements, and information about "the building blocks of matter" (atoms) and "the building blocks of life" (cells). Author's note, a note on illustrations, acknowledgments, selected sources.

This book would be good for intermediate aged students. This book talks about eight year old students comparing their heights to different objects around them going as far as space. And through this discovery the book talks about space and science. This book would be good to use in the classroom to talk about science, space, and the universe.

comparisons of size/distance

Hiking in the woods and reading a book when you get to your final destination is always a sense of peace and relief. Now leaving it for someone else to read is not what I ever thought about doing.

I was not too much of a fan when we were allowed to read this in class. It's focused on information but very cool illustrations.

This story was interesting, but a bit boring. It would be great to pair with a lesson on biomes in 4th grade or a lesson on measurement in 5th grade.

Again, a great one for perspective. Reminded me of Jabari Jumps illustrations. It would be fun to read with students because of how big the trees are, and could make for a great science activity too.

es la historia de un niño que a traves de un libro logra conocer el parque nacional redwoods.

island-life, children's, nonfiction, natural-history, nature-study, illustrated, science, zoology, eco-awareness, NYPL, volcano, Pacific Ocean, evolving, geology, maps, endemic-species, biography*****

The Galapagos Islands (fifteen of them) have a rather unique history, flora and fauna. In this brilliantly illustrated introduction to the evolution of the islands and their specific inhabitants. This book is not to be missed and is also a grand teaching tool. I have the 2021 reprint in hardcover and am very pleased to have found it!