I am the Universe

It’s celebration time because a glorious new Vasanti Unka book has arrived in the world. It is scintillating. It gleams and it glimmers.

Paula Green, Poetry Box

I am the Universe embodies this desire to know where we are in the grand scheme of it all....[It] conveys a sense of wonder, a sense of the enormity of the infinite and the drama of the cosmos, and the thrilling diversity and richness of nature. But it also provides a sense of the collegiality of community, and the warm embrace of our family. It is at once reassuring and also mind expanding, with plenty of triggers to spark conversations about big scientific and philosophical concepts. And it is all done with simple yet compelling, thoughtful text, and bold, flat artwork that covers every inch of each page. The illustrations are attractive, colourful and dynamic sending the reader swirling through space, swimming through oceans and strolling through town, all enabled by a generously big format which makes you feel like you’re falling into the world of the book.

Melinda Szymanik, Kids Books NZ

Coming from a writer based in Auckland, New Zealand, the Earth, the Solar System, the Galaxy, the Milky Way, this charming book takes readers on a tour of the universe. Designed especially to help young ones (aged 3-5 years) begin to understand the vast nature of nature itself and their place in it, I am the Universe is an ‘out of this world’ tale.

Rural Living Auckland

Wow! Reading this with a group of youngsters aged 6 – 9, it was clear that the illustrations – so bold and bright and simply stunning – were a clear winner in what’s described as a “starlit” journey from the outer reaches of the universe to planet Earth and then right down to a family home and the heart and mind of a child. That it featured space and planets added to its appeal; animals and nature drawings were also popular. It’s a big colourful book which makes readers think about the universe and the world and what it means to be part of it and would be good to read snuggled up to a parent or grandparent.

Dionne Christian, Kete

[A]n absolute winner...Each page throughout is a feast for the eyes and the brain

Becky Popham, The Sapling

fricking gorgeous (of course it was – Unka is the genius behind The Boring Book and Who Stole the Rainbow?)

Unity Books Children's Bestseller list, The Spinoff Review of Books

Magical, vibrant illustrations that will transport you from the furthest reaches of space to the neighbourhoods we live in and the beds we cuddle up in with books. Heaps of cool detail in the illustrations and simple but effective text – and all bundled up in a styley purple hardback cover.

The Sapling

a dazzling introduction to the basic concepts of stars and space, which comes back down to the personal with an intimate family bubble of hands, feet, books and cat. “We are a family: being together is all that we need.”

Ann Packer, NZ Listener Best Children's Books 2020

[A]ccessible and appealing...Vasanti Unka's illustrations are simply spectacular, and her language charming and poetic: "I am an ocean, with dancing blue waves that sing to each shore." Highly recommended.

Emma Wood, Otago Daily Times

Wonderful illustrations combine with sparse, yet vibrant, descriptions to create a deftly structured book beginning with the vastness of the universe which then gradually narrows its focus to the earth and, finally, to the domestic lives of people living here. This is a book which informs through entertainment, and children – and adults – will be tempted into it again and again by the vivid and detailed images. In our current climate of COVID, the themes are particularly poignant as they remind us of our universal connectivity.

NZ Booklovers