Infinityphotographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell
Review posted March 24, 2025.
Astra Young Readers, 2022. 32 pages.
Review written December 22, 2022, from a library book.
Starred Review
Kids are fascinated by infinity. Well, my kids were fascinated by infinity, anyway. But more kids can hear about the ideas behind infinity and become fascinated with the help of this simple picture book.
I like that the illustrations are photographs, helping kids grasp that the idea of infinity is all around us. There's a picture of a kid sitting between two mirrors and looking into them. There are pictures of starry skies, flocks of birds, and leafy trees. On another page, they've written out a googol.
But the book also makes clear that infinity isn't just big numbers. They also demonstrate an orange slice, with half taken away, then half of that taken away, and so on.
Thinking about infinity is tricky. You have already thought of a large number and added one, but that might lead you to make the mistake of thinking infinity is something really, really big. Remember, though, infinity is not something big. Infinity is endlessness.
They tie it up by saying that even though the stars in the sky are finite, your mind has no limits.
The back matter is fun because it includes the ideas of Hilbert's Hotel as an infinite school with infinite school buses arriving. It's kind of a shame it's buried in the back matter -- but if this intrigues your kid, they need to find a copy of The Cat in Numberland, by Ivar Ekeland, where the whole book explores those ideas, and why adding infinity to infinity can just be infinity.
Overall, the book is a straightforward introduction for kids. The photo illustrations make it extra inviting.