Review of A Flyby Journey Through Time

[Kutloano Makhuvhela]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Flyby Journey Through Time" by Harvey Minasian.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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How did everything come to be? And by ‘everything’, I mean, how did the world come into existence? How did it all start? A Flyby Journey Through Time by Harvey Minasian is a science children’s book that gives brief answers to the questions above.

The author starts the first chapter by urging you, the reader, to imagine standing in front of an ‘indestructible, gigantic magical three-dimensional T.V.’ This fantastic T.V., the author continues, allows you to go back in the past and allows you to see what happened at the very beginning of the world. Yes, you get to see what it was like before the Big Bang. The author acknowledges that it might be hard to visualise this state of nothingness but tells you not to worry because soon, the Big Bang happens, and that’s when everything is created: space, time, universe, galaxies, and nebulae. While briefly explaining each, we are introduced to quarks, electrons, atoms, subatoms, et cetera. The rest of the book takes you through the creation of Earth and how life not only survived but thrived.

This was such an enjoyable book. I did not feel like I was reading, but I was watching everything. The television the author urged us to imagine in the beginning became too real, and I felt like I was watching everything through it. That was made possible by the gentle writing of the author. The author managed to make us see complicated, highly scientific stuff in a new way that was easy for us, non-scientists, to understand. I found the facts entertaining, not boring. The tone of the writing was guiding and inviting. The sentences were short, upbeat, and flowing. They made the reading a smooth experience.

Another thing I liked was that the author made complicated words bold in the text so that if you’re not familiar with them, you can stop and just search them on the internet for further reading. This consideration was very thoughtful on the author’s part. I also liked how the book was written chronologically. This enabled me as the reader to follow the story of creation from start to present and what could happen in the future if we’re not careful.

The table of contents was a good inclusion because it meant that if you wanted to reread the book, you just had to go through it and read the parts that intrigued you without having to read the book from cover to cover again. This made the navigation through it easier. The organisation was the book’s greatest strength. The last thing I liked was the inclusion of illustrations and pictures.

There is nothing I disliked about the book because it delivered on its promises. However, I think the author could have added more illustrations and pictures in the early chapters, especially when the text started to become complicated. Like, preferably, it should have been on the right-hand side of the text so you can see what the author is talking about as you read along, instead of putting the pictures at the end of the chapter. But that was my subjective thought; other people might not see it the same way.

Because it was exceptionally edited and I didn’t see any errors, I am happy to rate this book five out of five stars. I recommend it to children who love science and aspire to be scientists. They will be entertained and educated with this book. A suitable age would be ten years upwards. The narration reminded me of my favourite and popular YouTube channel called Kurzgesagt.

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A Flyby Journey Through Time
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Kibet Hillary]

I am glad that the book was written chronologically and that the author met the reader's expectation. I am wondering, though, where the quarks, electrons, atoms, subatoms, and others came from. Many thanks for the amazing review, @Kutloano Makhuvhela.

[Andrea Paravano]

I love reading books written for children about science and history with my son. I feel that sometimes when books are written for children they are easier to understand as an adult. I am glad that the book kept your attention and was enjoyable. I will have to add this one to my list to read with my son, and lets be honest by myself as well as in life there is always more to learn!

[Onyemuwa-dave]

This is a fantastic and insightful review! I particularly enjoyed how you highlighted the "gigantic magical three-dimensional T.V." concept and the author's ability to make complex science, like quarks and nebulae, so accessible and engaging. Your suggestion about more illustrations in early chapters is spot on. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.