Little Black Hole

March 15, 2023
In science journalist Webster's debut picture book, a lonely little black hole gets some comforting advice. Worried that whenever she makes a friend, they disappear, a personified black hole is reassured by a larger one that she carries her friends with her--literally and metaphorically. Indeed, when she thinks about her friends, they reappear in the glow of her memories. Working from Stephen Hawking's theories about black hole radiation and scientific speculation that the emitted particles could reveal something about what's inside, Webster has concocted a fanciful story of friendship and loss, though the actual scientific hypothesis ("a black hole might be burping out teeny tiny bits of matter," and together these particles "give off a very faint light. A glow!"), described in the backmatter, will require more background to understand. The appearance of a space fox among the stars, planets, space rocks, and suited astronauts reminds young readers that this is fantasy. The straightforward text is set in white on the black background of the universe. But Willmore's expressive illustrations show a universe that also has lively color--brightly hued planets, the iridescent streak of a visiting star and a comet, and clouds of color trailing from the little black hole herself, showing her excitement at meeting another like her. Her final "glow," in shades of purple, blue, turquoise, and orange, is splendid. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A sweet friendship story with a science twist. (Picture book. 3-7)

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