“Your Place in the Universe”

Written and illustrated by Jason Chin Neal Porter Books/Holiday; 40 pages; $18.99; ages 4-8

Four diverse 8yearolds contemplate relative size and immense distance in this stellar book that moves from their earthly home into the cosmos. Many stops along the way are quantified in terms of the last. Example: Hypothetically, it would take 19 days for a jet to reach the moon and 20 years to reach the sun. Harder to imagine: how lightyears measure our distance from the center of the Milky Way, the nearest galaxy, and the outer reaches of the observable universe. Glorious fullpage illustrations, filled with helpful diagrams, easily blend the lighthearted and the grand, the known and the still mysterious. Perfect for the budding astronomer or just a curious kid.