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Peter is a very curious boy who loves to ask questions. Naturally, when he comes across a book titled "Universe," Peter's mind begins buzzing, and he just has to get some answers. His imagination is captured by the book's entry on the mysterious black holes. What exactly are black holes? How do we know they exist, if they're invisible? This book aims to explain these things and more, in a way that's accessible to young children.
Peter and the Black Hole captures a child's sense of wonder beautifully. Peter's curiosity is even given its own personality, and is depicted as a separate entity from the boy. Peter's mother is well-versed in fielding questions from Peter's hungry curiosity, and a majority of the book consists of her attempts to answer her son's never-ending questions. The book continues in this vein through its explanations of how black holes work by using metaphorical imagery in place of scientific fact. Radiation and collapsing stars are mentioned, but the book chooses to focus on emotions and feelings. The text is accompanied by wonderful full-page illustrations that use eye-catching bold lines and bright colors. It's an attempt to make the science accessible to kids.
The book falls just short due to the book's propensity to use abstract concepts, large words, and several grammatical errors in its descriptions. Issues aside, it serves as a good entry point into pondering the vast expanses of space. Peter's hunger for knowledge is contagious, and will hopefully encourage young readers to seek more answers elsewhere.