EARTH IS BIG

Each of 18 chapters offers support for titular sentences that seemingly contradict each other, as in “Earth Is Big” versus “Earth Is Small."

The large format—roughly 12 inches high by 20 inches wide when open—is necessary to pull off the curating. An introduction discusses exploring “the planet (and a lot of other things) through measurement and comparison.” Each chapter has been carefully arranged over one double-page spread. Bands of contrasting (if drab) colors and different type sizes and weights help keep attention; abundant, sometimes-droll posterlike illustrations are complementary but can feel overwhelming. The book has a decidedly retro feel, but art pays attention to racial presentation, and text includes climate change, mass extinctions, and a 2012 meteorite strike. Using contrasts to organize facts about the planet is a good idea in a time when attention is scarce. Teachers and parents who enjoyed browsing through the How and Why series of yore will find this a comfortable, updated replacement. The text valiantly serves up accessible explanations of terminology in virtually every field of science even as it also shows comparisons. For example, before a page comparing heavy metals, there are sidebars about the difference between mass and weight and about calculating density. One interesting chapter compares spherical and near-spherical objects living, nonliving, and human-made—including Earth, of course. Cool, kid-friendly fact: Soap bubbles become perfect spheres because of surface tension.

Solid scientific browsing.