The Greatest Stuff on Earth
The amazing science of sunlight, smartphones, microphones, mushrooms & everything in-between
Age 8+
Children's & Young Adult: General Non-Fiction
A quirky, surprise-filled and light-hearted romp through the stuff that makes up our world, from atoms, elements and light, to water, soil and DNA, to buildings, books and smartphones.
A quirky romp through the stuff of our world, from atoms and elements and light, to water, soil and DNA, to buildings and books and smartphones. With chatty explanatory text, fast facts, and clever, stylish and sometimes funny photos, illustrations, and diagrams, this fantastically browsable book offers hundreds of entry points for knowledge-hungry kids.
Creators
Author Steve Tomecek holds a degree in Geology and has 30 years’ experience educating children about science, including as a writer, a radio and television presenter, and live performer.
John Devolle was born and raised in Birmingham and moved to London to study fine art at the University of Westminster, where he attained a BA(hons) in Mixed Media Art. For several years, he was a guitarist in a punk-blues-garage band called Junkbox and did a bit of music production for other bands in his studio in Hackney Wick. He now works full-time as a freelance illustrator, specialising in editorial illustration and infographics and both writing and illustrating children’s non-fiction. He lives, works and walks the dog in Walthamstow, East London.
Reviews
This fascinating book is bursting with facts and graphics. It’s a great read for any child interested in the world.
Natasha Harding, The Sun
The selection of topics feels a bit random but does amount to a fair amount of scientific understanding. It’s a book you can pick up in fits and starts and always learn something new.
The One and Only Marfalfa
The contents pages are clear, well laid out and well signposted. We also have an excellent glossary and subject index, as well as a list of photo credits. This book provides a huge amount of support information and acts as a great starting point for further investigations. I am sure that it will encourage the young, and not so young, reader to look more closely at the range of stuff that surrounds us and enables us to survive as human beings.
Margaret's Reading Shelf
The Greatest Stuff on Earth is the perfect book for inquisitive minds fascinated by the world around them. As Tomecek points out in the final page of his book, this is just the beginning, there is a whole world of “stuff” out there to explore. Books like this provide young minds with the catalysts to do so. With so much more stuff to discover, who knows, Tomecek and Devolle might be back with a follow-up. On the strength of this book, I certainly hope so.
Geekdad
