The Biggest Thing in the World - Hardcover

Kenneth Steven is the author of The Bearer of Gifts, Imagining Things and Other Poems, and The Sea Mice and the Stars. Melanie Mitchell is the author of Good Morning and the First Step Nonfiction series, and is the illustrator of the See and Say! series.

Young preschoolers will recognize their experience of feeling dwarfed by a giant world in this picture book that combines some exciting science facts with cozy affection. Little Snow Bear feels small and vulnerable as he walks with his mother through the melting snow. When they come face-to-face with a huge musk ox, Little Snow Bear asks, “Is that the biggest thing in the world?” His mother answers, “No. There are plenty of things that are bigger.” He repeats the question, and he gets the same answer, as hundreds of elk thunder past, and he spots a powerful waterfall, a mountain reaching the sky, a whale, and the sea. The pastel-textured pictures, often shown from the small creature’s viewpoint, intensify the warm, fuzzy effect. The story’s close brings a comforting surprise as Little Snow Bear’s mother tells him softly that what is bigger than anything else is how much she loves him. Children will be moved by the combination of the vast physical universe with the close, personal intimacy. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Hazel Rochman