THE EARTH

The universe brags about one of its best and favorite parts.

Depicted as human with lightly toned skin and billows of black hair a-glimmer with stars, Universe squires two wisecracking ETs past the planets (“a pretty neat system, if I do say so myself”), then recaps the history of this one from “hot, bubbly, gassy mess” through the development of life to the appearances of satellites and pizza. In simple language she explains the roles oceans, the water cycle, and our planet’s placement in the “Goldilocks” zone played in the appearance of us. If she sounds a note of warning about the need to fix pollution and other hazards to life, it only briefly dims her conviction that we will indeed step up. Heavenly bodies, microorganisms, and, on later pages, racially diverse groups of children sport bright, googly eyes and benevolent smiles in the cartoon illustrations. In co-published tours that echo the upbeat tone, Universe presents viewers with basic introductions to The Moon (our “Small-but-Mighty Neighbor”), the life cycles of a “gazillion” Stars, and our own “Shining Star,” The Sun. Each outing ends with general directions for a relevant activity (for Earth, creating a terrarium) and, injecting the Art into STEAM, opens with an earnest poem.

With its companions, breezy flyovers with light but sound informational payloads.