The Big Story of Being Alive

What does it mean to be alive? Is a rock alive in the same way that a flower is? Why not? What about a robot?

In this clever picture book, Neal Layton explains that there are some things that everything alive has in common: they are cellular, they grow and they can reproduce. Taking the young reader through these potentially tricky concepts, Layton’s illustrations help describe how cells combine to make new life, using the example of a baby growing in the womb.

There are some higher-level concepts here, which, even though this is a picture book, might confuse younger children, such as the notion of philosophers and their different takes on the meaning of life. Rather, this is a book probably suited for mid-primary aged children who might not have been introduced to the idea of reproduction before and are old enough to engage with ideas around what cells are and why things grow.

Layton’s illustration style uses a mixture of collage and a fun, crayon-outlined colour pictures which are fun but also clear and helpful when it comes to explaining big ideas. The fourth in a nonfiction series including The Story of Stars, The Story of Everything and The Story of Things, this is an interesting book which would be a great addition to a school or home library.

Beth mae'n ei olygu i fod yn fyw? Ydy carreg yn fyw yn yr un ffordd ag y mae blodyn yn fyw? Pam lai? Beth am robot?

Yn y llyfr lluniau clyfar hwn, rydyn ni'n dysgu bod yna rai pethau yn gyffredin i bopeth byw: maen nhw'n gellog, maen nhw'n tyfu ac maen nhw'n gallu atgenhedlu.

Mae yna rai cysyniadau pwysig yma, fel y syniad o athronwyr a'u syniadau gwahanol ynglŷn ag ystyr bywyd. Mae arddull darluniau Layton yn galw am ddefnyddio cymysgedd o ludwaith a lluniau lliw wedi'u hamlinellu â chreon, sy'n ddifyr ond hefyd yn glir ac yn ddefnyddiol ar gyfer esbonio syniadau mawr.