Infinity and Me
Written by Kate Hosford
Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska
Infinity is a big subject to tackle in a picture book. In the author’s note, she points out that as soon as kids learn what infinity is, they use it all the time. So a picture book seemed like a logical way to explore some of the ideas kids have about infinity. Uma, the young narrator, begins her musing about infinity after she sees the starry night. Certainly there seems to be an infinite number of stars and it makes her feel very small. She asks her friends about infinity. Charlie says it is a number that goes on forever. Samantha said the infinity symbol on its side is like a racetrack she can drive on forever. Everyone uses the word ‘forever’ and that becomes difficult for Uma to deal with. Then Grandma snuggles with Uma under the stars and her love stretches to infinity.
The author interviewed kids and got their ideas about infinity so the text has a very kid-friendly feel. Uma’s quest comes to a satisfying end. A thought provoking class read aloud. I can see this as a PowerPoint or stop-action film with a young reader narrating it as a literacy activity. Readers could chart the way infinity is described in the book, even interviewing their friends and adding their definitions to the list of kid responses in the book. The author provides a curriculum guide at her website: (http://khosford.com/curriculum/).
TITLE: Infinity and Me- AUTHOR: Kate Hosford
- ILLUSTRATOR: Gabi Swiatkowska
- PUBLISHER: Carolrhoda
- REVIEWER: Risa Brown
- EDITION: Hardcover, 32 p.
- ISBN: 978-0-7613-6726-0