Kid Review – The Biggest Smallest Thing – picture book
deWaal, Sara. The Biggest Smallest Thing. Pictures by Ana Stretcu. NP: Annick Press, 2025.
Guide to categories: Kid Review – review of books for elementary-aged and younger children
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Summary
A STEAM-packed celebration of outside-the-box thinking set during a school science fair—perfect for fans of Ada Twist, Scientist.
It’s time for the Scintillating Science Symposium, and Mo is determined to win this year’s competition. He knows his classmates are talented, but none of them are serious scientists like him . . . especially not Muriel. After all, Mo wants to be a chemist when he grows up; Muriel wants to be a cat. Besides, Mo has the best idea to turn something small into something big. He just can’t forget his secret ingredient . . .
As the day of the Symposium arrives, readers will love discovering the scientific surprises behind the Sunnysill Elementary students’ projects, from lemon meringue pie to boogers. Ana Stretcu’s energetic and charming artwork further emphasizes how fun STEAM can be and how creativity can help answer big questions—in the classroom and beyond.
Purchase The Biggest Smallest Thing on Amazon – https://amzn.to/4nQHwRz
My Kid Review
Elementary schools everywhere hold science fairs to challenge their students’ critical thinking. The Biggest Smallest Thing would be a delightful book to use as an introduction. The students in this second grade class have a variety of talents and interests but Mo is the only one who is “scientific.”
Sara deWaal’s text challenges the thinking that there has to be a science-type answer to every science fair question. The book closes with an explanation of each of the science experiments and why they qualify as a science fair project.
The book is illustrated with child-like pictures by Ana Stretcu which compliment the text. The characters in the illustrations represent a wide variety of cultures and abilities.
The Biggest Smallest Thing would be a great addition to the picture book section of a K-12 Christian school library.
I received a complimentary copy of The Biggest Smallest Thing. This is my honest review.
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