I am the Universe

This book takes from the vast and wide expanse of the Universe to a small child at a window looking up at the stars, showing our space in the world: how we belong to a family, the earth and the sea, giving young readers a sense of their place in the world.

The illustrations are rich and vibrant, a feast for your eyes! Little New Zealand details include the Matariki cluster, a Kowhai tree and a Kiwi popping up from the New Zealand on the world map, I spotted a Tui too! Helpful descriptors on some pages, detailing the layers in the atmosphere for example, “Exosphere, Thermosphere....” these add another layer of interest to readers. I am the Universe is a hardback, a bit bigger than most picture books, and feels good in my hands, slight embossing on the cover of stars, it feels like a special read and it is.

Young children can struggle to grasp where they fit in, in this giant universe that we are a part of, and I think this book is a fabulous way to demonstrate how we are part of not only our families and neighbourhoods, but part of something much larger!

Title: I am the Universe

Author & Illustrator: Vasanti Unka

Publisher: Penguin Random House

ISBN: 978-0-14-377344-3

RRP: $25.00

Format: Hardcover

Publication: September 2020

Ages: 5+

Reviewer: Louana McCormack, Librarian, Opaheke School, Auckland

How are you recommending this book? Highly Recommended

What’s the book’s opening sentence? “I am the Universe, an infinite space of glittering galaxies.”

You can buy this book here