We Go Way Back by Idan Ben-Barak

Abstract

Reviewed by: We Go Way Back by Idan Ben-Barak Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Ben-Barak, Idan We Go Way Back; illus. by Philip Bunting. Roaring Brook, 2023 [40p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250850799 $18.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 5-8 yrs What is life? It’s a big question that is also the catalyst for this breezy science primer. In direct address, the narrator first lays out what does and does not have life: a human, a tree, and a chicken all have it—also cheekily noted is the dead fly that had it—while a robot, a car, and a rock most certainly do not. As for what life actually is, the best definition the book can come up with is “the Way That Some Things Make More Things That Are a Lot Like Themselves but Sometimes a Little Bit Different,” with the added caveat “sort of.” A quick trip to Earth’s long-distant past maintains that frank uncertainty. “We don’t know where it happened . . . we don’t know exactly how it happened . . .” but somewhere in the world of rocks and water, elements joined to make molecules, which joined to make “bubbles,” which started to produce more bubbles that were the same “but Sometimes a Little Bit Different.” This isn’t a terribly specific science lesson, but it’s certainly accessible, and the playful, conversational tone easily lends itself to a science-based storytime. Candy-colored hues make up the swirls and curls of different molecules and the creatures they eventually evolve into, while Bunting’s pop-eyed characters bring the silly to the science. Further resources would have been welcome, but this might be particularly useful in explaining how science is not always clear and that sometimes “sort of” is the most accurate answer. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois