Author Biography

Elin Kelsey is an internationally respected leader in the field of environmental science and education, as well as the award-winning author of "Not Your Typical Book About The Environment" and other books for children and adults. She consults around the world on environmental projects and is an adjunct professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Royal Roads University. She lives in Pacific Grove, CA.
Soyeon Kim is a Toronto-based, Korean-born artist who specializes in work that merges real-world materials and fine sketching and painting techniques to produce three-dimensional pieces. She is a graduate of the Visual Arts program at York University in Toronto.

Review

Brain Pickings 13 Best Childrens, Illustrated & Picture Books of 2013
Brain Pickings 13 Best Science & Technology Books of 2013
Parents' Choice Foundation Award, 2013
Best of 2012 Selection, Kirkus Reviews
YABC Choice Awards Winner, Non-fiction Picture Book Category, 2012
Green Book Festival Children's Book Award Honorable Mention, 2013
Kirkus Best of 2012
Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, 2013 "In You are Stardust, Elin Kelsey works magic. This lyrical book effortlessly connects kids to their timeless origins, and the natural world, while teaching them science too. Soyeon Kim's playful illustrations will allow children's imaginations to run wild, even as they will hang on the book's every word. Bravo!"
-- Juliet Eilperin, National Reporter for the Washington Post, June 18, 2012 "We are made of earth and water and air and stardust, and we are more related to animals and plants than we ever imagined. Everything about us is found in the natural world. Our atoms are from ancient stardust, and the water and salt that flows within us is part of the unchanging cycle that goes back to the beginning of time. We breathe pollen that, when released, may actually create a plant. We grow at night and seasonally shed and grow hair, in similar fashion to animals. We are also a living planet for millions of microorganisms. Kelsey doesn't lecture or overcomplicate the information. She speaks directly to readers in a way that opens minds to big ideas and paves the way for thoughtful questions of their own. The litany of facts comes alive in vivid, descriptive language, lending a philosophical, elegant and mystical aura to current scientific findings. Kim's incredibly unusual illustrations are sublime. Employing varied painting techniques, vivid colors, multidimensional cutouts, unexpected materials and unusual textures, she creates a view of nature that is at once real and otherworldly. This is a work that demands to be read and reread, studied and examined, and thoroughly digested. It is perfect for sparking adult and child conversations about our place in the universe. A remarkable achievement."
-- Kirkus Reviews, starred review, July 26, 2012 "Readers learn interesting facts about themselves and are urged to make parallels to the planet at large. Meanwhile paper cutouts of children travel from page to page in the mixed-media dioramas, illustrating the text's assertions in a fantastical way...each one provides much to consider and absorb."
-- Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, School Library Journal, September 1, 2012 "An exceptional collaboration."
-- ForeWord Reviews, September 1, 2012 "This is a book that reveals both the relationships and parallels between humans and the planet they live on, something children think about a lot...and it does so in a clear and compelling way...Don't miss this one, which begs to be shared intimately with children. Gather together, be still, and learn how we are stardust."
-- Julie Danielson, Kirkus Book Blog Network, September 14, 2012 "As the worlds of science and illustration continue to show, sometimes non-traditional forms of illustration - the whimsical, the mysterious, the abstract - are the best ways to draw in a new audience to scientific ideas...[You Are Stardust] transcends typical illustration and leaves room for children and adults alike to ponder the wonderful facts it presents."
-- Glendon Mellow, Scientific American, November 15, 2012 "Like the child pictured, who turns cartwheels on an overturned tree, readers, too, will join in this joyful ceremony of the cycle of life."
-- Jennifer M Brown, Shelf Awareness for Readers, November 30, 2012 "A breathtaking picture book written for children, with a message meant for everyone...I'm pretty sure I held my breath the entire first time I read this book. The illustrations, the text...It's all sensational."
-- Sturdy for Common Things, January 22, 2013 "As an educator, this picture book is what I like to call a 'thinking book.' It is the type of multi-leveled narrative that, over time, draws you in and prompts more questions than gives answers. For parents and teachers, it is the best kind of book to share with children of all ages because it sparks meaningful conversation."
-- Nancy Rawlinson, Canadian Children's Book News, February 6, 2013 "An exquisite picture-book that instills that profound sense of connection with the natural world. Underpinning the narrative is a bold sense of optimism -- a refreshing antidote to the fear-appeal strategy plaguing most environmental messages today...a thoughtful, beautiful piece of early science education presented by two women, the most heartening such example since Lauren Redniss's Radioactive."
-- Maria Popova, Brain Pickings, March 8, 2013

Praise for Not Your Typical Book About the Environment:
"Elin Kelsey has produced a highly engaging book . . . The illustrations are fantastic and make a complex subject -- conservation and sustainable living -- easy to understand."
-- Jane Goodall

Review Text

We are made of earth and water and air and stardust, and we are more related to animals and plants than we ever imagined. Everything about us is found in the natural world. Our atoms are from ancient stardust, and the water and salt that flows within us is part of the unchanging cycle that goes back to the beginning of time. We breathe pollen that, when released, may actually create a plant. We grow at night and seasonally shed and grow hair, in similar fashion to animals. We are also a living planet for millions of microorganisms. Kelsey doesn't lecture or overcomplicate the information. She speaks directly to readers in a way that opens minds to big ideas and paves the way for thoughtful questions of their own. The litany of facts comes alive in vivid, descriptive language, lending a philosophical, elegant and mystical aura to current scientific findings. Kim's incredibly unusual illustrations are sublime. Employing varied painting techniques, vivid colors, multidimensional cutouts, unexpected materials and unusual textures, she creates a view of nature that is at once real and otherworldly. This is a work that demands to be read and reread, studied and examined, and thoroughly digested. It is perfect for sparking adult and child conversations about our place in the universe. A remarkable achievement.

Review Quote

You Are Stardust is a poetic and helpful children's picture book that celebrates the bonds that unite us with the entire universe.

Excerpt from Book

A note from the author: One of my favorite things about writing books for kids is imagining where those books will end up. I hope this one gets covered with grass stains, carted outside to be read in a tree or by flashlight in a tent. I wrote this book as a celebration; one to honor the extraordinary ways in which all of us simply are nature. Every example in this book is backed by current science. Each day, for instance, you breathe in more than a million pollen grains. The bigger ones get caught in the mucus or hairs in your nose and are sent flying with a great Ah-Choo! Tinier ones may travel down your throat and eventually get pooped out. But a lucky few float back out when you exhale. Tonight, just before bed, invite your little one to blow a kiss to the world. Marvel at the infinite connections between that tiny heart and the rest of the planet. Dream of flowers unfurling from the pollen in a child

Description for Teachers/Educators

note from the author; rich vocabulary (scientific terms, poetic language, metaphor); literal and figurative language; internet resources

Details