The Big Picture Book: see life unfolding through time

John Long (author)

Brian Choo (illus)

Allen & Unwin, Australia: 2005

ISBN: 1741143284

Note: extension vocabulary

Genres: astrophysics, geology, palaentology, science

Shortlisted 2006 CBCA Eve Pownall award for Information Text.

'In each of us, both you and me/ there is a little piece of star./ For we are made of atoms formed/ at the beginning of time,/ at the very birth of the Universe..'

Thus begins this fascinating exploration of the emergence of our planet, its structures and many life forms. Each selected time period is given a double page spread. The factual text is concise but very readable, written with an ear for language and pacing. Supplementary text is linked to small photographs and larger artistic interpretations of life millions of years ago. The layout is designed to carry a considerable amount of information without appearing visually overwhelming or cluttered.

This is a book that encourages questions, being full of wonder at the astonishing beauty and complexity of the world we have inherited. The final page reminds readers of the responsibility of that inheritance but also that, with or without us, ‘the story of the Universe, ever-changing, will go on and on...'

Dr John Long was for many years collator of vertebrate palaeontology at Western Australia Museum. He is now Head of Sciences at the Museum of Victoria.

Brian Choo is a Perth-based artist who has been studying and reconstructing fossil animals for many years.