The Big Bang: The Creation of the Universe

Ingrid conHausen was a librarian in New Hamburg, Ontario.

Bailey teaches in a Montessori school in Toronto and also works as a freelance journalist.

In this very brief science book she attempts to explain the origin of the universe at a grade 6 reading level (Frye formula). Here we have 15 pages of text with from one to nine lines on each page and a painting on each facing page. Beginning with a brief mention of the universe as we know it, the text then traces the development of our solar system from the primeval night to the point at which the Big Bang occurs. It stops there, with no explanation of how this phenomenon created life. All this is stated as fact; it is never made clear that this is one of several theories of the origin of our universe. The colour illustrations are adequate but not outstanding. The end papers contain a very nice black-and-white scale drawing (I think; there is no explanation) of our solar system that deserves to be repeated elsewhere in the text. There is a glossary, but it omits an explanation of atomic particles.

Very young readers and poor readers would certainly enjoy having this read and explained to them. Older readers will be disappointed in the paucity of text and will need additional material and a teacher to answer the many questions raised.