Big Bang for the Young

February 6, 2013 4:22 PM

Can you recommend a book on how the universe was formed that is geared toward a 4-5 year old? Big Bang, etc, not creationism. I'm being bombarded with questions.
posted by rabidsegue to education (7 answers total)

It's old, but you could do a lot worse than "Life Story" by Virginia Lee Burton, especially if you have a Kindle Fire. This was one of my favorite books when I was that age.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:27 PM on February 6

Maybe you can read Cartoon History of the Universe with the kids?
posted by Foci for Analysis at 4:27 PM on February 6

Bill Bryson's A Really Short History of Nearly Everything.
posted by Dr. Zira at 4:51 PM on February 6

He might be a bit young for Merlin's Tour of the Universe by Neil de Grasse Tyson, but he won't be for long.

Tyson is making an updated version of "Cosmos" that should air next year-ish which should be worth a shot as well.
posted by Sunburnt at 6:38 PM on February 6

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins, with illustrations by Dave McKean (yeah, that Dave McKean).
posted by turgid dahlia 2 at 6:48 PM on February 6 [1 favorite]

See Inside Space worked well for our daughter at around that age. The other books in that series are also good.
posted by crocomancer at 4:13 AM on February 7

(I know you said book, not TV, but...) Netflix offers a whole bunch of streaming episodes of NOVA, including ones on the Big Bang and Black Holes, narrated by Neil de Grasse Tyson. My 5 year old loves them - but he loves the Pluto episode above all.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:07 AM on February 8