Willems (Opposites Abstract) takes the idea of relative size and pursues it all the way out into the universe in this conceptual title. "Are you big?" a narrating voice asks via bold, blocky text that occupies the book's verso pages throughout. On the adjacent recto, a lilac-faced human figure stands expectantly on stick arms and legs. A page turn later, a bespectacled red balloon appears: "A hot air balloon is big." The now-smaller-seeming stick figure peers up at it. Next, a cutout cloud strides onstage atop long legs, dwarfing the hot air balloon and the figure: "A cloud is big." As the pattern continues ("A storm is big"), balloon and cloud shrink comparatively, and the stick figure is reduced to the size of a pencil eraser. Then Australia shows up, shrinking the stick figure to the size of a pencil point. As larger--and more galactic--entities arrive, the line of dwarfed objects grows longer, until a late entrant hints at the possibility of a parallel series of objects growing smaller and smaller. Size depends entirely on context, Willems hints in this spare, sprightly thought experiment, whose back matter compares all of the objects included at scale. Ages 3--5. Agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt. (Feb.)

Because children are small, they often look forward to becoming bigger. Comparing themselves only to other humans, however, limits the possibilities. A hot air balloon seems big to a child, but that same balloon is petite next to a cumulus cloud. A continent like Australia seems very big--until it's shown next to the moon. The illustration style, with the look of dimensional paper collage, represents a different direction for Willems, but his sense of fun is as strong as ever. Each brightly colored illustration builds upon the last, incorporating images that connect the pages. While the humorous anthropomorphized facial expressions on disparate elements such as a storm, the Earth, a star, and even the M100 Galaxy are not scientific, a chart of actual size comparisons is included at the end to detail specific mathematical calculations. Just when children may feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the world around them, a closing twist turns the comparison around. Make a (little) space for another winner from Willems.

Size may be relative, but that doesn't mean it can't also get silly. How large or small a kid is can take on outsized importance, so right from the start, an unseen narrator poses the titular question. Well, what is "big," exactly? Our stand-in, purple-skinned child is placed next to an anthropomorphized bespectacled hot-air balloon. After all, hot-air balloons are big. On the next spread, the balloon is beside an even larger cloud. And beside the cloud? A storm. When the continent of Australia walks onto the scene, grinning wide, dwarfing the storm, we get a hint of how ridiculous things are about to get. And indeed, in walks the moon. Then Earth. Then the sun. Then the star Pollux, and beyond that are galaxies and galaxy clusters. Suddenly the question returns. "So, are you big?" A little bug cries out, "You are to ME!" Further facts about relative sizes appear at the story's end, as well as a necessary caveat that the images are not to scale. With aplomb, Willems plays with textures, colors, and layering in a style that resembles cut paper. Meanwhile the steady one-upmanship of the large bodies allows for the rare combination of scientific backing, read-aloud humor, and a concrete message about where one stands in the grand scheme of things. Vast charm in a (relatively) small package yields big laughs. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Big, bigger, or downright astronomical -- it's all relative in Willems's latest concept book. On the first page, a round-headed, stick-limbed child smiles at the reader; text opposite asks, "Are you big?" Sitting in the middle of the square, solid-colored page, the kid looks plenty large. Then, a bespectacled hot air balloon arrives, dwarfing the perplexed child; the hot air balloon is big until an oversized cloud rolls in. Each previously big figure is bumped down the line and shrinks down to barely visible specks when truly colossal celestial entities enter the scene: the moon is big and the sun bigger, but wait until you meet the star Pollux or the M100 galaxy! The same gag repeats with each and every page-turn; appealing collage-style illustrations, oversized typography, and a just-right touch of escalating absurdity keep the joke feeling fresh throughout. Careful, clever utilization of relative size and composition allows Willems to capture the magnitude of his subject matter within a petite trim size, and back matter offers numerical comparisons for readers curious to know almost exactly how many "average kids" could fit inside a galaxy cluster. This is a playful introduction to the importance of perspective that brings big laughs. Jessica Tackett MacDonaldJanuary/February 2024 p.89 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

K-Gr 2--Carrying size comparisons out to the far reaches of the universe, Willems follows up Opposites Attract with another concept book that is only ostensibly for the Oshkosh set. Putting stick limbs and noseless faces on a set of suggestive simple or geometric shapes opposite terse observations in poster-sized type, the author responds to the titular question with a series of successively bigger things--from a hot air balloon to a cloud, a tropical storm to Australia, and so outward in stages from the Moon to a full galactic cluster--and then turns all that perspective on its head by asking "So, are you big?" and having a tiny bug answer: "You are to ME!" That twist should prove a pleaser for younger readers and listeners who are feeling small; for those who might wonder just how much larger the Moon is than Australia, or for that matter, a galaxy cluster than an average kid (a lot of zeroes in that one). Willems closes with a list of numerical estimates. VERDICT A big idea, explored inventively, to intrigue any young audience.--John Edward Peters