How to Bake a Universe
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- £8.49
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- £8.49
Publisher Description
This whimsical and informed debut picture book takes a leaf from a cookbook to show readers how the universe came into being.
To bake a universe, you’ll need a heaping pile of nothing. That’s right, not a single thing!
Just make sure you have enough . . . Alec Carvlin breaks down the Big Bang into the steps of a recipe, from the formation of quarks and atoms (preheat your oven to Absolute Hot) to the compression of gases into stars and planets (just set your timer for 180 million years). Carvlin expertly balances mind-boggling facts with snappy storytelling, and Brian Biggs’s bold and contagiously cheerful illustrations bring the infinite down to the bite-sized. How to Bake a Universe is an accessible and playful authority on the formation of the universe and a heartfelt commentary on how to live in it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
For Carvlin and Biggs, conjuring a universe is just like whipping up a recipe, only with a much longer prep time. Centering a paper-white chef, the creators launch a recipe that requires popping "a heaping pile of nothing" into an oven that's set to "Super Duper Really Very Mega Hot." After much waiting ("Set your timer for 180 million years"), the universe is done; now it just needs to cool for another 13.6 billion years. The metaphorical explanation may be hard to track for readers new to the concepts, but black line cartooning, punctuated by swirls of nonpareil colors, offers an enjoyable irreverence, and the mash-up of unabashedly nerdy kid humor and cooking tips is indeed tasty: to see if the universe is done yet, stick a toothpick "in the center of your universe. If gases come out, it needs more time. But if you pluck out a star, you're all set!" An extensive afterword concludes. Ages 6–8.
