Older Than the Stars

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

"You are as old as the universe itself." Fox explains this amazing fact in a cumulative, House That Jack Built format, in concise, vivid prose beginning, "This is the BANG when the world began." "These are the bits that were born in the bang when the world began." Along with each statement on the double pages there is a detailed expansion of information in a sidebar. We follow the bits as they form into blocks, gas, star, atoms, sun, planet, and finally plants, animals, and "people just like you." So we are all "older than the stars." Sensitive to the significance of the emotional impact of this remarkable tale, Davis dramatically combines several media: pencil, cut paper, and potato and eraser prints, and digitally combines them. There are non-objective forms until the arrival of animals and plants; hand calligraphic text adds to the primitive images somehow conveying energy sources rather than representational organism. Imagination is stimulated as readers are encouraged to reflect on the implications of their part in the long history. A glossary and time line are included. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

Gr 2–6—Fox and Davis tackle the challenge of creating an engaging read-aloud about the Big Bang theory with energy and style. Employing the structure of a familiar nursery rhyme, the text takes readers through the steps of the universe's expansion: "This is the BANG when the world began./These are the bits that were born in the bang when the world began." A text box on each spread offers a clear, concise explanation of what happened in that particular stage of the universe. Fittingly, the illustrations start off chaotically, relying on abstract blobs of color and use of textual design. Gradually, as the universe orders itself, the artwork resolves into familiar shapes: the Earth, animals, people. Both author and illustrator hang the child appeal of the book on the concept that the same atoms present at the beginning of the universe make up our world today; in essence, each child is "as old as the universe itself." Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano's Big Bang! The Tongue-Tickling Tale of a Speck That Became Spectacular (Charlesbridge, 2005) also offers a child-friendly take on the theory, but Older Than the Stars will appeal to even younger students with its nursery-rhyme-style text and simple, clear explanations. Perfect for the classroom, this is an intriguing introduction to a difficult-to-understand concept.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

Kirkus Reviews

In this appealing picture-book introduction to cosmology, a cumulative rhyme presents the "big bang" theory of the origin and development of the universe and the idea that humans, along with everything else, are made of star stuff. Each double-page spread is illustrated with Davis's lively supportive graphics done with pencil, cut paper and prints and digitally composed; each includes a breezy paragraph of more comprehensive explanation. The pages explode with color: vibrant oranges, yellows, pinks, purples and grayed greens. At first the "House that Jack Built" text tumbles, too, becoming more orderly as the chaos of the beginning structures itself into stars, the Earth and finally its inhabitants. A final timeline summarizes the chronological narrative, balancing 300,000 years on the left with nearly five billion years on the right but noting that it is not done to scale. A glossary offers more precise definitions of the terms used. This simple but effective presentation of a complicated theoretical model, the most commonly accepted explanation of the universe's beginnings, will delight early readers and listeners with its personal connection. (Informational picture book. 5-9)