The Stardust That Made Us tells us that ‘From fish to fingernails, sand to Saturn, everything around us is created by tiny elements’. An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into any other substance. There are about 100 elements, each with its own type of atom. Everything in the universe contains the atoms of at least one or more elements.
It also tells us that scientists, so far, know of 118 different elements and that ‘every one has a personality of its own, behaving in a unique way that makes it distinct from any other.’ As we turn the pages, we read about atoms and molecules and interesting bits, like the carbon dioxide that we breathe out that is made up of one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen and is perfect for our plants to utilise.
Every page in this big colourful book is full of mind-blowing information which is presented to us in such a fun way that we can’t help but enthusiastically digest it. There’s even a page on The Big Bang when our Universe exploded nearly 14 billion years ago, and the very first stars that lit up the night sky a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
There are fascinating pages on Metalloids and Halogens and other Noble Gases that have no smell and no colour; right down to Fizzing Fireworks, how they are made with all those myriad colours that excite us.
This is a book which will blow you away! An absolute must for a child who loves to learn new and exciting facts that make up the stuff of life.
Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 8+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m a multi-award-winning astronomy author, writer and speaker who has talked to over half a million people about the universe, including schools, the public and businesses. My 20 books have sold more than 400,000 copies worldwide and been translated into 23 languages. I’ve written over 250 popular science articles for publications including The Guardian, New Scientist, The Wall Street Journal and European Space Agency.
In recognition of my efforts to popularise astronomy, the asteroid (15347) Colinstuart is named after me. I won The Margaret Mallett Award for Children’s Non-Fiction in 2020 and the Solar Physics Popular Media Award in 2022. I’ve also been runner-up in the European Astronomy Journalism Prize. A fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, I’ve talked about space on Sky News, BBC News and Radio 5Live.
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