“Oliver’s Great Big Universe” by Jorge Cham

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Rating: 3/5 Stars

A light-hearted and entertaining book on the adventures of 11-year-old Oliver. After seeing a presentation by Dr. Howard, an astrophysicist, Oliver decides that is what he wants to be when he grows up. In the meantime, he plans to bother Dr. Howard with questions about astrophysics and write down the answers in a book when he will then present to his fellow students. This is that book, along with various shenanigans that Oliver gets into while writing the book.

The book lightly covers topics about modern astrophysics like the big bang, black holes, the sun and planets, the size of the universe, the end of the universe and the nature of time. Aimed at young readers, it is quite light on details but filled with enough unusual facts about the universe that readers can trot out for dinner conversations. Comics related to the topics also fill the pages and help to add humorous asides to the chapters.

A book that could help to keep young readers entertained, while also making them curious about the surrounding universe. A short list of websites and books are provided at the end for those who want to know more.

Book read from 2024/08/15 to 2024/08/16