A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 262

Picture Book: On Earth

Author & Illustrator: G. Brian Karas

Summary: In this smart picture book, the author/illustrator depicts our Earth in a way that young children can easily understand. Although the children on Earth’s surface are shown to be about the side of a small country, your young audience won’t mind. They’ll be gleaning important scientific concepts to help them visualize and understand our vast and well-designed solar system and the forces that affect them.  Concepts such as the Earth’s rotation, revolution around the sun, and our place among our planetary neighbors are wonderfully shown. Daylight moves from shadow into night. Seasons in both hemispheres are explained, and months are delineated. Gravity is given the credit it is due, and key concepts are defined on the last page.

Hanna’s Comments: This book would be great to read to a group of young students in a homeschool or private school where beliefs in God’s creation can be paired with some basic planetary science. Focus on the beauty and awe we have when personally discovering and considering these extraordinary gifts from God. Then consider talking about our God-given responsibility for caretaking and conservation of Earth and Earth’s resources.

Publisher & Date of Publication: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2005

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 5 and up, K and up

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: None at present

PBT Category: Non-fiction

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: abundance/bounty, awe, beauty, creation, dependence/interdependence, directions/maps, geography, heaven/sky, home, humanity, land/mountains/soil, life, moon/space/stars/sun, wonder

Scripture Connections: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1); he set the earth on its foundations (Psalm 104:5); You, Lord, laid the foundations of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands (Hebrews 1:10)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of young children who are just beginning to understand God’s creation, our human home, and our place in the solar system.