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Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years
(Our Universe)
by
"Hi, I’m Earth! But you can call me Planet Awesome."
Prepare to learn all about Earth from the point-of-view of Earth herself! In this funny yet informative book, filled to the brim with kid-friendly facts, readers will discover key moments in Earth’s life, from her childhood more than four billion years ago all the way up to present day. Beloved children's book author Stac ...more
Prepare to learn all about Earth from the point-of-view of Earth herself! In this funny yet informative book, filled to the brim with kid-friendly facts, readers will discover key moments in Earth’s life, from her childhood more than four billion years ago all the way up to present day. Beloved children's book author Stac ...more
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Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
October 24th 2017
by Henry Holt & Company
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Start your review of Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years

May 11, 2019
Calista
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
genre-beginner,
bage-children,
favorite,
2017,
genre-fantasy,
nature,
genre-comedy,
want-to-own,
z-stacy-mcanulty
I loved this fun little book about the history of our planet. It’s a great way to learn about Earth’s family, you know Mars, Venus and so on. Pluto is their pet. They found a very fun and fresh way to tell this story. Seeing Earth as a baby was so cute and also so informative about how much the planet changed. There was no breathable air for 2 billion years. It’s fascinating. There was even a page about how dirty she has become and people need to be more conscious. Still, it was upbeat, hopeful
...more

While Stacy McAnulty's "autobiographical" picture book about our planet, about planet Earth, is both informative and certainly strives to be entertaining (and yes, I do consider the general aesthetic set-up of Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years visually delightful and David Litchfield's accompanying illustrations bright, descriptive, imaginative, not to mention much fun), as an older adult who does tend to read (and enjoy) a lot of serious in tone non fiction, I indeed find rather the majority o
...more

Finally - my favorite planet writes her memoir! She dishes all the dirt about her life, including those embarrassing tales of her youth as a "hot mess."

(I must be a late bloomer since I am just now getting to my Explosive. Gassy! Very cranky. stage.)
We learn when various life forms began . . . and occasionally, ended . . .

Despite the rather dire circumstances in which we humans have placed our beloved planet, the author does manage to end on an upbeat note. There is an additional two pages at t ...more

(I must be a late bloomer since I am just now getting to my Explosive. Gassy! Very cranky. stage.)
We learn when various life forms began . . . and occasionally, ended . . .

Despite the rather dire circumstances in which we humans have placed our beloved planet, the author does manage to end on an upbeat note. There is an additional two pages at t ...more

Feb 04, 2019
La Coccinelle
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
children
This is a really cute book! Unlike the interminable Hey There, Earth Dweller! that I just gave up on, Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years has a smaller scope and sticks to the basics. Told from the point of view of an anthropomorphized planet, the book covers the Earth's history in almost biographical fashion, with amusing illustrations to help make the various points. I like how Pluto's downgrade from planet status is handled, and the Earth's baby book is pretty funny.
There are a couple of pages ...more
There are a couple of pages ...more

A nice picture book that introduces young ones to facts about Earth science in a fun, accessible way. It's gentle with the fact that humans are screwing up the earth, saying "sometimes humans forget to share and play nice and clean up after themselves." The next page is quite optimistic that humans will "turn out to do really great things." Personally, I can't believe the concept of a personified earth that likes humans.
...more

This is truly a well put together book all about the Earth, his family, and his friends. How the universe came to be and how our planet has evolved. Whimsical and beautifully illustrated.

@kidlitexchange #partner —— All opinions are my own.
My seven year old has been fascinated with all things space related for quite a few years now. We were super excited to check this book out. It definitely did not disappoint. First off, the extremely fun illustrations caught our attention immediately. They are playful and just plain fun to look at. One of our favorites was Earth introducing us to her family of other planets via a Christmas card. We loved that Pluto was included as a family pet ...more
My seven year old has been fascinated with all things space related for quite a few years now. We were super excited to check this book out. It definitely did not disappoint. First off, the extremely fun illustrations caught our attention immediately. They are playful and just plain fun to look at. One of our favorites was Earth introducing us to her family of other planets via a Christmas card. We loved that Pluto was included as a family pet ...more

EARTH! is a fabulous look at our complex and fascinating planet that will be sure to entertain and educate young readers/listeners. I plan to purchase this for my elementary library, and will be sharing it in read alouds for various age groups with a "quick read" for the youngers and a more thorough read for the older groups. This would be an excellent title to pair with Oliver Jeffers new title HERE WE ARE for gifts or storytimes.
Thanks to the author for sharing an advance copy with me for rev ...more
Thanks to the author for sharing an advance copy with me for rev ...more

@kidlitexchange #partner Review – all opinions are my own.
We loved the picture book Earth! My First 4.54 Billion years! I read it aloud to my two daughters who were fascinated with the illustrations. They really enjoyed the planets portrayed as “living beings” with faces and siblings.
I was impressed with the educational content. This book introduces scientific concepts in a light and fun manner that led us to further research. My 7-year old’s favorite part was the section on tectonic plates.
This ...more
We loved the picture book Earth! My First 4.54 Billion years! I read it aloud to my two daughters who were fascinated with the illustrations. They really enjoyed the planets portrayed as “living beings” with faces and siblings.
I was impressed with the educational content. This book introduces scientific concepts in a light and fun manner that led us to further research. My 7-year old’s favorite part was the section on tectonic plates.
This ...more

This was great! I loved this particular bit:
"Humans have been super fun. No other species has ever been interested in learning about me. Other animals are nice. But they mostly eat and poop and never wonder about my amazing life."
^^truth. ...more
"Humans have been super fun. No other species has ever been interested in learning about me. Other animals are nice. But they mostly eat and poop and never wonder about my amazing life."
^^truth. ...more


This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!
Hello friends, and Happy Earth Day! To help celebrate our lovely blue planet, we’re reading Earth!: My First 4.54 Billion Years, written by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by David Litchfield, a unique narrative of Earth’s natural history as told by the planet itself.
“Hi, I’m Earth!” begins our narrator, who most will immediately recognize as our very own home planet – though she prefers to be c ...more

Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years is the first children's picture book in the Our Universe series written by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by David Litchfield, which stars the planet Earth as an exuberant celestial body with brown eyes and a broad smile, who is happy to tell its life story.
McAnulty's text is rather simplistic and straightforward. It is an anthropomorphic story about the planet Earth and its relations within the solar system, the moon, and sun, and the inhabitants both past and ...more
McAnulty's text is rather simplistic and straightforward. It is an anthropomorphic story about the planet Earth and its relations within the solar system, the moon, and sun, and the inhabitants both past and ...more

Earth tells its life story (so far) in this fact-filled, fun-fueled nonfiction picture book. As any friendly planet would do, Earth explains its family members, favorite activities, how it has changed over time, and its hope for the future. Author Stacy McAnulty and illustrator David Litchfield make big numbers and abstract concepts accessible through an appealing narrative voice and clever graphics as readers come to know an Earth that is caring, wise, funny, and optimistic. Earth: My First 4.5
...more

This narrative nonfiction book is narrated by Earth, her/himself! David Litchfield’s friendly, bright illustrations and Stacy McAnulty’s story describe the first 4.54 years of Earth’s life in an entertaining manner that’s very familiar to kids, including Earth’s adorable baby book and her family holiday celebrations. Earth introduces us to her siblings (the planets) and the cousins (The Milky Way) in her family, and describes her favorite activities. I loved the timeline in the center of the boo
...more

Sound basic earth science presented by a cheerful Earth itself for young readers. McAnulty and illustrator David Litchfield prove that science doesn't have to be boring.
The illustrations are wonderfully engaging and match the overall tone of the book nicely and include lots of clever touches. An engaging fun book to enliven primary science classes. Will work well for story-hour or classroom reading as well as a lap book.
There are notes and sources listed from McAnulty (Author and Earthling) ...more
The illustrations are wonderfully engaging and match the overall tone of the book nicely and include lots of clever touches. An engaging fun book to enliven primary science classes. Will work well for story-hour or classroom reading as well as a lap book.
There are notes and sources listed from McAnulty (Author and Earthling) ...more

A fantastic book about the history of Earth. It's child friendly and informative and several of the pages made the grownups laugh out loud. The kids also enjoyed it, especially the page when the asteroid killed all the dinosaurs.
...more

The Earth was personified in this book so that it would be more relatable to children and that they will understand some the the concepts of space and planets better. I enjoyed the illustrations, especially the time line. This is a great book to begin the topic of how we can save the Earth. Happy Earth Day!

Totally charming book about the planet earth's history. Grades K-4
...more

Thanks to the Kid Lit Exchange for the review copy of this book. As always, all opinions are my own. This book is fun, fun, fun! A friendly-faced Earth gives us a brief glimpse into its short 4.54 billion years of existence. Unlike many nonfiction picture books, which provide a narrative separate from the straight facts, EARTH! combines everything into one story. This makes for much easier read-alouds, and helps the reader to absorb all of the information. EARTH! is filled with super cute illust
...more
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Stacy McAnulty is a children’s book author, who used to be a mechanical engineer, who’s also qualified to be a paleontologist (NOT REALLY), a correspondent for The Daily Show (why not), and a Green Bay Packer coach (totally!). She is the 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor Recipient for Excellent Ed, illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Her other picture books include Earth! My First 4.54 Billion
...more
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Our Universe
(4 books)
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