Big Bangs and Black Holes: A Graphic Novel Guide to the Universe

Getting young people, especially young girls, interested in science is the goal of this book. It joins a long list of similar books, though it is one of the few to feature a female scientist leading the charge through the information. This book covers a lot of ground and hits the high points of basic astronomy, physics, and general science. Most of the focus is on how the universe works, but doing so in an engaging way through drawings, pared-down explanations, and using examples from everyday life readers might already be familiar with, although the use of Russian nesting dolls is something readers might not be familiar with. This book is more for children in the later stages of elementary school, fourth through sixth grades, and is not really for children younger than that. There are some pretty high-level concepts, and trying to take them down to a child’s reading level will be taxing. The art is decent, and the author does a good job breaking down complicated ideas to easier language to understand.