Just a Second by Steve Jenkins - ADVISABLE

Jenkins, Steve.  Just a Second.  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011. $16.99.  PICTURE BOOK.  This book tells what can happen in one second, in one minute, in one hour, in one day, in one week, in one month, and in one year.  Plus, it tell about things that happen very quickly (light travels the distance equivalent to the length of the equator in 1/7 of a second) and very slowly (it would take 80,000 years for a spacecraft to reach the nearest star outside our solar system).  This book is full of random facts about time (like in one minute the moon travels 38 miles--61 kilometers--in its orbit around the earth).  I don't know if this book is going to change the world or anything, but some people might enjoy reading and learning these facts.  It is interesting to see how various things relate to each other in a common amount of time.  For example, in one second a howler monkey's scream travels 1,125 feet (343 meters), but a humpback whale's song travels 5,085 feet (1,550 meters).  This book does get young minds thinking about the world around them more, and seeing time differently.  But I still don't think it's a must have.  Still, both young and old readers can learn a lot from this book.  EL (K-3), EL, MS, HS - OPTIONAL.  Brent Smith, Reading Teacher