A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars

A Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book * Winner of the Mathical Book Prize

Perfect for curious children, classrooms eager for STEM content, and readers who have devoured Ada Twist, Scientist and How Much Is a Million?

Did you know that the earth is covered in three trillion trees? And that seven billion people weigh about the same as ten quadrillion ants? Our world is full of constantly changing numbers, from a hundred billion trillion stars in space to thirty-seven billion rabbits on Earth. Can you imagine that many of anything?

The playful illustrations from New York Times–bestselling artist Isabel Greenberg and the friendly, straightforward voice of author Seth Fishman illuminate some of the biggest numbers in the universe—a hundred billion trillion stars—and the smallest—one unique and special YOU. Here is a book for story time, for science time, for math time, for bedtime, and all the times in between.

“This picture book is one in a gazillion.”—Jane O’Connor, the New York Times–bestselling author of the Fancy Nancy series

The whole world is filled with big, enormous, gigantic, humongous, incredible numbers.

Look all around you.

You can see them in the sky, and in the grass, and in the forest, and in the ocean, and in the city. 

They are even in the pages of this book, just waiting for you—and your one and only imagination.

“I read this mind-blowing book, which translates to ten minutes—that’s 600 seconds—of pure fun. How unique—or should I say this picture book is one in a gazillion. It will make a great read aloud.” - Jane O’Connor, author of the international bestseller Fancy Nancy.

“Picture books often give attention to a child’s infinite capacity for imagination, which we also often reserve for the world of things made up. But within that imagination, there is room too for the fantastically real, numbers that are facts of the universe we live in, which soar until they are well beyond any of our own experiences, numbers that are real but can only be imagined as they stretch from the earth to the sun. Fishman doesn’t simplify it, here there are not a zillion stars in the sky, there are figures that are true and amazing. It is quite a wondrous thing to imagine the make-believe, but any child reading this book will conclude that the real magic around them is in every breath, every minute, every life lived, and that they themselves are a wondrous thing.” - Kate Beaton, author of King Baby and The Princess and the Pony

“It is quite a wondrous thing to imagine the make-believe, but any child reading this book will conclude that the real magic around them is in every breath, every minute, every life lived, and that they themselves are a wondrous thing.” - Kate Beaton, author of King Baby and The Princess and the Pony

“Huge numbers take on an even bigger scale in Fishman and Greenberg’s insightful, awe-inspiring picture book. A secret shared between narrator and the reader kicks things off…. From there it’s all about the (innumerable) details.... An auspicious primer on some very big numbers.” - Kirkus Reviews

“In a book that encourages readers to observe the world with wonder and curiosity, Fishman delights in throwing mammoth, even unfathomable figures at them....Greenberg illustrates in a chunky, cheery cartoon style...adding warmth to counterbalance the unwieldy numbers.” - Publishers Weekly

“An imagination stretcher for younger audiences who enjoy marveling at mind-bending numbers.” - School Library Journal

“This is a math teacher’s dream, and Greenberg’s imaginative cartoon spreads, in which characters bound tipsily through their milieu viewed from varying perspectives, will retain the interest of children about to exit primary school. It will also have appeal for dreamers who like to think big thoughts.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Greenberg combines abstract art and childlike cartooning in bold colors, thick outlines, and paint-splattered scenes to make Fishman’s engaging text come alive. ...A lively glimpse into the enormity of the universe in a package well suited to the picture-book set.” - Booklist Online

“Fishman and Greenberg engagingly highlight the wondrousness of numbers and stars, as well as just about everything about our home planet. ...[it] beautifully succeeds in its mission to convey to young readers the vastness of the numbers in our midst while reassuring them that...“there’s only one of YOU.” - Horn Book (starred review)