May 07

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EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD, SEEN THROUGH NUMBERS! by Jennifer Berne

Posted by on May 7, 2024 in Author Posts | 2 Comments

I have to admit, I’m a bit of a number nerd. Even though I became a writer, and really do love the magic of words, I have a special soft spot in my heart for the wonderful language of numbers. And I know I’m not alone!

The language of numbers

Without using numbers we can describe things as “big” or “small, “near” or “far,” “fast” or “slow.”  But that’s so dull and vague. However, once we add numbers, we can say something weighs 55 tons, or is 60,000 miles long, or happens at a rate of 200 million per minute. Then it becomes vivid and exciting! Precise facts are a higher truth, and numbers have the power to make those facts precise.

Turning numbers into books

So when the opportunity to write a series came up, a very satisfying idea popped into my head. What if I described the world — all its myriad subjects and fascinating facts — by using the hidden numbers in each subject to bring its story to life. Happily, Harold Underdown at Kane Press liked the idea too. And so a series was launched.

Numbers tell the story, but which story?

Our idea was to do picture book tours of nonfiction subjects, highlighting each subject’s most fascinating facts by using its most amazing numbers. We called the series NUMBER TOURS for CURIOUS KIDS. But, since there was everything in the world to write about, where should we start? Ultimately we decided to start with the reader — more specifically, with the reader’s body. Book one became A TOUR OF THE HUMAN BODY: AMAZING NUMBERS — FANTASTIC FACTS. On May 7th it makes its debut. Book two, scheduled for next year, is A TOUR OF OUTER SPACE. And book three, it’s still in the tossing-ideas-around stage.

So what are these amazing numbers?

By now you’re probably ready for some actual numbers. How do you describe the human body through its numbers? Well, here are a few examples for you.

— Your  body renews its cells so fast that 15 million cells were replaced by new ones in the time it took you to read this sentence.

— Your tongue can only taste 5 flavors. All the rest of your flavor identification is done by your nose, which can detect over 1 trillion odors.

— In your lifetime you’ll eat approximately 55 tons of food. That’s equivalent to eating 9 tyrannosaur rexes.

— If all your blood vessels were laid out end to end, they would measure more than 60,000 miles. That’s enough to circle the world, more than twice!

Then add pictures!

As with most picture books, the illustrations bring the story to a higher level. So here are a few examples of the magic and excitement that illustrator Dawn DeVries Sokol added to A TOUR OF THE HUMAN BODY.

And activities too!

To extend the experience of the book we decided to add some more in-depth backmatter, including resources, exhibits, toy and model suggestions, and finally some activities. Here’s one of the activity spreads which includes everything from blood to bones.

So next, blast off to outer space

Our TOUR OF OUTER SPACE is still in the works, coming out next year. But to end this post, I’ll give you a little taste of how numbers can bring the wonders of outer space to life.

— Our Sun is so big a million Earths could fit inside of it.

— It takes our solar system over 225 million years to make a full orbit around the center of our Milky Way galaxy. That means the last time it was in this position, there were dinosaurs on Earth!

So that’s it for now. Have a great year full of curiosity, creativity and discoveries — and make the most of your next 525,600 minutes!

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Jennifer Berne is the acclaimed author of many picture books including On A Beam of Light, Manfish and How the Sea Came to Be. Jennifer’s books have been chosen as New York Times Editors’ Choice, NPR’s Great Reads, Horn Book’s “Best Nonfiction Books,” and Eric Carle Museum’s “Best of the Best.” After retiring from her advertising career in New York City, Jennifer moved into a house she designed and built in the rolling hills of Ancram, NY. She and her husband spend their summers aboard their sailboat, cruising the coast of Maine. And she writes, wherever she goes… land or sea.


Dawn DeVries Sokol is an author, illustrator, professional art journaler, and designer of books. Her book Doodle Diary sold more than 150,000 copies. She has written and illustrated 12 nonfiction books for major publishers as well as a trio of board books for children. Dawn teaches her art journaling methods and techniques online and her artwork has been exhibited in books, on websites, and in galleries around the world.