Review by Booklist Review
Considering that adults have trouble grappling with the concept of infinity, you have to admire Hosford for trying to wrap young brains around it. There is only the scantest sense of character, place, and story here, but we do meet a young girl named Uma, who stares up at the stars. I started to feel very, very small. She asks a number of people how they imagine infinity, and each has his or her own creative take. Her friend Sam envisions infinity as a figure 8 racetrack. Grandma sees it as an ever-enlarging family tree. This compels Uma to tackle a few old philosophical saws, including the one about cutting something in half and then cutting that half in half, ad infinitum. Swiatkowska was the right choice of illustrator for the spiraling subject matter. Her big-eyed Victorian-looking characters embark upon various flights of fancy: driving along an infinity sign, becoming a Vitruvian Man, and standing beneath an ice-cream cone that would take forever to lick. Oddball for sure, but good fun to puzzle over.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Dark-haired Uma sits wide-eyed in her backyard under a black, star-studded sky, torn between the charm of her new red shoes and the overwhelming size of the universe. "How many stars were in the sky? A million? A billion? Maybe the number was as big as infinity." Friends, teachers, and family give Uma new ways to think about infinity-as an endless succession of ancestors, or as a noodle cut in half and in half again (Swiatkowska draws Uma cutting a python-sized noodle with a knife, demonstrating that things can become infinitely small, too). She struggles with the sheer enormity of the idea: "Actually, my head was starting to hurt from all these thoughts." It's not until Uma's grandmother notices her shoes that Uma can make infinity her own: "[M]y love for her was as big as infinity." Hosford's (Big Bouffant) story is as much a look into the interior life of a sensitive girl as it is a meditation on a mathematical concept-a task for which Swiatkowska's (This Baby) idiosyncratic portraits are perfectly suited. Ages 5-10. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. Illustrator's agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-A small girl, Uma, ponders infinity while gazing at stars, "How many stars were in the sky? A million? A billion? Maybe the number was as big as infinity." Uma proceeds to ask friends and family how they conceive of infinity. They define it in quantities of numbers, time, music, ancestors-even spaghetti! Finally, she settles on her own measure of infinity, quantified in something that is personal and boundless. Narrator Nancy Wu is accompanied by a full cast of characters, music, and sound effects that complement the text and the book's full-bleed, painted illustrations by Gabi Swiatkowska. Background sound effects include a bicycle bell, the "tinkling" of stars, chattering voices, and churning gears. A sense of wonder is embodied in Wu's narration, the illustrations, and the overall production. The audiobook contains two tracks, one with page turn signals and one without. VERDICT This is an intriguing introduction to a mathematical concept, perfect for those seeking to inspire very young people to wonder about math and science. ["This quiet jewel is sure to spark contemplation and conversation": SLJ 10/12 review of the Carolrhoda book.]-Lisa Taylor, Ocean County Library, NJ © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
To many young children, infinity is just a word that may be used to max out a quantity and end an argument. But at some point, kids will try to wrap their minds around the actual concept, and this ambitious picture book will help. Looking up at the endless stars, Uma feels "very, very small" and begins to think about infinity. She asks around -- friends, Grandma, teachers -- and receives a formidable potpourri of interpretations and explanations. Uma is overwhelmed by the mental exercise, and her musings and worries are perfectly childlike ("Maybe I could lick an ice-cream cone forever, but what if my tongue started to hurt?"). Grandma brings Uma back to reality with a compliment on her new red shoes that she's been waiting for all day, and Uma lands on her own practical under-standing of infinity ("my love for her was as big as infinity"). Even for adults, this is an enormously complex idea -- scientifically, mathematically, philosophically -- but Hosford smoothly distills it to a manageable serving that will both engage and challenge kids. Swiatkowska's art, too, is remarkable at this elucidation, illustrating the text literally but with appropriately disorienting and surreal details that combine to whimsical, visually stunning effect. An author's note provides some background on the concept's history as well as quotes from real children on what infinity means to them. katrina hedeen (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Uma's struggle with the meaning of infinity offers readers a playful, gorgeous introduction to the mathematical concept. When little Uma gazes at the vast night sky and wonders how many stars are there, she asks, "How could I even think about something as big as infinity?" When friends, her grandmother, the school cook and the music teacher offer creative ways of describing infinity, Uma ends up feeling rather overwhelmed. She then realizes that her pondering has made her forget about the new red shoes she'd been so excited about right before her stargazing musings began. Worse yet--no one had noticed her fancy new footwear that day! But after school, Grandma tells her "Uma, I meant to tell you this morning--those are the most beautiful shoes I have ever seen!" and in a joyous spread, Uma glories, "my love for her was as big as infinity." Then Uma and her grandmother go outside to look at the sky, and "[s]nuggled up to Grandma, the sky didn't seem so huge and cold anymore. Now it was more like a sparkly blanket, covering us both." While Hosford's text deftly evokes the child's voice, Swiatkowska's expressive, lush illustrations steal the show, providing infinite opportunities for readers to examine each and every spread. A stellar artistic vision of the infinite power of intergenerational love. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
