about the book
Dressed in swim trunks, a red towel cape, and a snorkel mask, a young boy plays on the shore’s edge with his action-figure astronaut and toy rocket ship. Then, to his amazement, a book falls to earth right before his eyes and lands, plunk, right at his feet in the sand.
Now here’s what is even more amazing, the book is THIS BOOK!
Before the boy can pick it up, the book, a cooler, a beach ball, an umbrella, the toy rocket ship and astronaut, the sand grains, and even the boy slowly lift off and start to float right up into the air. “Without gravity, everything would float away.” Right up to outer space!
Drifting along, the little boy learns in simple terms about weightlessness, matter, and mass. He even discovers how the massive sun exerts forces on tiny Earth and its moon, and how gravity actually works.
Imagine all the wild possibilities if there was no gravity! What would happen if the earth and its moon drifted away from the sun?
Not to worry…the young boy makes it back to earth and the shore’s edge, all safe and sound. Do you suppose this curious adventurer checks out the additional information included about gravity at the end of the book—the book that also tumbles back to earth?
about the author/illustrator
Jason Chin enjoys combining science and difficult concepts with fantasy, making his books interesting and educational even for a three year old. His road to publishing was much easier than most. Co-workers at the Manhattan children’s book store where he worked introduced him to his current publisher.
Jason’s biggest challenge has always been self doubt. He always knew he wanted to illustrate books, but writing was quite a bit more daunting. Every time he tackles a project, there is always a point where he gets frustrated and thinks he is doing a terrible job. Then he revises and revises, and when he is done with that he revises and revises some more until he absolutely has to send it off to his editor. It often takes a whole year from that point to get the book into print. By the time Jason gets a copy of the actual book, he has forgotten about all the tiny little things that bugged him and is very happy with the finished product!
Jason designed the book cover of Gravity, and a few months after he sent it off to his editor, the fellow sent him a message telling Jason to check out the movie poster for the new film called Gravity. Just like Jason’s book cover, it showed an astronaut floating above the earth with the sun rising in the background. It even used the same type font that Jason’s used! Needless to say, he spent a lot of time explaining that his book had nothing to do with the movie!
Jason grew up in a small town in New Hampshire and studied illustration at Syracuse University. He currently lives with his wife, Deirdre Gill, and their son, Liam, in Burlington, Vermont.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Amazon
Author video talk
Book reading: Gravity
Also by Jason Chin:
Water Is Water : A Book about the Water Cycle by Miranda Paul. Roaring Brook Press. 2015.
Island : A Story of the Galapagos. Flash Point. 2012.
Coral Reefs. Flash Point. 2011.
Redwoods. Flash Point. 2009.
read more!
Coral Reefs by Jason Chin
A girl picks this very book off the New York Public Library shelf. As she becomes engrossed in the art and text, the library begins to sprout coral formations and slowly transforms into a whole watery world. There she spies a sea turtle, watches the food chain in action, witnesses how the creatures cooperate and adapt in order to survive, and learns about conservation. As the book ends, the city’s features slowly reappear and the girl leaves the library…dripping wet!
Fossil by Bill Thomson
When a boy splits open the stones he found along the lake’s edge, the plant and animal fossils inside begin to come to life. He first frees a fern and a fascinating dragon fly. It is all fun until one fist-sized rock reveals a pterodactyl that carries his pet cocker spaniel away. Will the rookie paleontologist figure a way to send the dino back to its extinct state and save his canine pal?
Tuesday by David Wiesner
One Tuesday night, a bullfrog wakes up to discover that he and his lily pad are flying through the night air! Then more frogs join him, and with as few words as possible they explore the wondrous night. But when dawn comes the lily pads return to their ponds, leaving the frogs wondering what next Tuesday will bring.