From BAM! to BURP!
A Carbon Atom’s Never-Ending Journey through Space and Time and YOU
by Melissa Stewart
illus by Marta Álvarez Miguéns
Charlesbridge Publishing, 2025
for ages 6 to 10
ISBN 978–1‑62354–446‑1
Purchase this book at your local independent bookseller or Amazon.com.
Get ready for an epic adventure, From BAM! to BURP!
Follow a carbon atom on its incredible journey over billions of years. You’ll discover that it’s been part all kinds of things, including a small planet that crashed into Earth, gases that erupted from a volcano, a dinosaur, an eggshell, a seashell, a lump of coal, and even a sheet of toilet paper!
Not long ago, the carbon atom became part of a towering maple tree and then a drop of maple syrup on YOUR pancakes! Imagine it traveling through your body. And finally, when you let out a deep breath, the carbon left your lungs, met up with a blast of gas from your stomach, and … BURP!
Where will the intrepid atom go next? It’s anyone’s guess.
In this 5‑minute audio interview for TeachingBooks.net, Melissa introduces the book and shares a bit of the backstory behind its creation.
Honors and Awards
- Junior Library Guild Selection
Reviews
“Using a friendly tone and speaking directly to readers, this book explains how a carbon atom that is now in a human might once have been in the body of a dinosaur. That’s a story young readers will want to know. … The illustrations provide color and humor and make facts about carbon atoms and their trip truly memorable. … VERDICT Highly recommended for science and literacy programs.” (School Library Journal, starred review)
“In conversational, child-friendly language, the author defines an atom and explains how carbon atoms landed on Earth (the ‘BAM’ of the title), rearranged themselves by joining with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, erupted from a volcano, and carried on to visit all of Earth. [Stewart] digs up some fun places carbon atoms can be found, like a crab shell, a lump of coal, and even the maple syrup that smothers a stack of pancakes, which a brown-skinned child gobbles up, thereby ingesting many carbon atoms. The youngster gets a burst of energy and later emits the ‘BURP’ of the title. Stewart’s extensive backmatter expands upon the nuts and bolts of carbon atoms … A science tale told with pizzazz.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“… a mind-blowing introduction to our universe’s fourth most-common element.” (Booklist)
“Acclaimed science writer Stewart explains the imagined but possible chain tracing an atom from prehistory — “Bam!” — to its release in a contemporary child’s “Burp!” The story, enhanced by Miguéns’s engaging illustrations, moves quickly through billions of years as atoms recombine and interact with flora, fauna, the Earth, its atmosphere and finally a handful of children. Terrific backmatter includes more information on carbon and fossil fuels and an explanation of how this book evolved from a student’s question at a school visit.” (Washington Post)
Behind the Book
“During a school visit in 2016, I mentioned that the atoms inside us today could have been inside a dinosaur that lived 150 million years ago on the other side of the world. A hand shot up. It belonged to a curious third grader brimming with questions. Where had the atom come from? How did it end up in us? Where else had it been along the way? I didn’t know the answers that day, but I was curious too. So I started researching.
“Writing a book that’s scientifically accurate and fun to read is no easy task. My earliest drafts traced a carbon atom’s path all the way back through time, but it was boring and repetitive. Next, I tried making the carbon atom a character who told its story, but that just didn’t work. Words like BAM! and KABOOM! originated in an unsuccessful attempt to create a comic.
“Thank goodness I saw a presentation in which author Candace Fleming recommended choosing moments to highlight and collapsing time when using a sequence text structure. What a great tip!
“Then, after reading an article about Theia, I decided to flip the book’s sequence and begin in the past. That’s when the manuscript finally came into focus.”
by Melissa Stewart
illus by Marta Álvarez Miguéns
Charlesbridge Publishing, 2025
for ages 6 to 10
ISBN 978–1‑62354–446‑1
Purchase this book at your local independent bookseller or Amazon.com.