Once Upon a Time There Was and Will Be So Much More
by Johanna Schaible (Author) Johanna Schaible (Illustrator)
Take a journey from the distant past into a future to be imagined with this gorgeous debut picture book whose gradated pages reflect the passage of time. Hundreds of millions of years ago, land took shape. Millions of years ago, dinosaurs lived on Earth. Thousands of years ago, people built towering pyramids. Ten years ago, the landscape looked different. A month ago, it was still summer. A minute ago, the light was turned off. Now! Make a wish! What will you be doing in a week? How will you celebrate your birthday next year? What will you discover when you are older? What will hold you in awe forever?
Moving inexorably from an age primeval into a future filled with questions, Johanna Schaible brings her beautiful collage artwork to an exploration of time that melds a conceptual vision with a physical one. With each page turn, the pages gradually become smaller--showing more and more borders from the past--until they reach the present moment, then grow larger again as time expands into a future full of possibilities.
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Kirkus
Ambitious and thought-provoking.
School Library Journal
Gr 2-4-Schaible's simple text spans billions of years in a few dozen pages. The first half of the book prompts readers to consider the past, with the text on the verso stating what has already transpired. The second half of the book takes on the future and enlists readers directly through text on the recto. It asks them to consider where they think they will be tomorrow, next year, or even in a decade. Like a film that experiments with different aspect ratios, the illustrations' sizes subtly contribute to the book's mood. Billions of years in the past, the renderings are full-bleed spreads, wide and seemingly limitless. With each flip of the page, readers get closer to the present day. The images shrink. The white space around them grows. By the time the book arrives at "now," the image is mere fraction of previous ones, conveying the tight immediacy of a single moment. Then there is a turning point. As the narrative points to the future, the images get gradually larger, and the white space smaller. The final image, like the first, spans to the very edge of the page, eliminating any margins. As the pictures grow, the possibilities seem infinite. VERDICT An essential purchase, this is a must-read to share with children as they begin to ponder the infinite.-Chance Lee Joyner, Haverhill P.L., MA.
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
JUV009070 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Date & Time
