Only One

Deborah Hopkinson & Chuck Groenink

- $6.99

- $6.99

This lyrical, environmentally focused picture book showcases the unique beauty of our one and only universe--its galaxies, stars, and planets--as well as our one and only Earth and the precious life it contains.

Join one girl as she leads her friends to a tree-planting ceremony. Along the way, she explains in simple language the value of the universe and Planet Earth. Readers will see the Big Bang, the Milky Way, all the planets in the solar system, as well as Earth's atmosphere, and the life within it: its oceans, trees, bugs, and seven billion human beings. Finally, the girl and her friends plant a tree--doing one small thing to help their one special planet.

Both informative and inspiring, here is a beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated science picture book about our universe that will encourage young readers and listeners to protect and preserve the environment.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY MAY 9, 2022

"One. Only one" begins Hopkinson's enumeration of facts about Earth and the universe, as relayed by an information-spouting child narrator with tan skin. In acrylic, ink, and digital art that employs myriad textures, Groenink visualizes the narrator and a group of kids with varying skin tones walking through a wood to join a tree-planting event. Along the way, the child reveals top-down details about the big bang, describing how "one tiny speck" became a universe filled with stars, galaxies, and planets, including Earth and its inhabitants. Each of these components receives its own factual treatment, usually including definitions and numerical details ("The Milky Way contains at least a hundred billion stars"), plus visuals shown in conversation bubbles. Though the narrator's documentarian-style monologue seems at odds with the inclusion of a substantial cast, the book's tour guide vibe successfully imparts a host of information while centering themes about conservation on a single planet: "One. Only one." Ages 4–8.

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