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About The Book

In their bestselling book for young readers, noted physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy, provide a grand and funny adventure that explains fascinating information about our universe, including Dr. Hawking's latest ideas about black holes. It's the story of George, who's taken through the vastness of space by a scientist, his daughter, and their super-computer named Cosmos. George's Secret Key to the Universe was a New York Times bestseller and a selection of Al's Book Club on the Today show.

About The Authors

Photo Credit:

Stephen Hawking was a brilliant theoretical physicist and is generally considered to have been one of the world’s greatest thinkers. He held the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for thirty years and is the author of A Brief History of Time, which was an international bestseller. His other books for general readers include A Briefer History of Time, the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universes, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design, and Black Holes: The BBC Reith Lectures, as well as the books in the George’s Secret Key series. He died in 2018.

Photo Credit:

Lucy Hawking, Stephen Hawking’s daughter, is a journalist and novelist. She is the coauthor of the George’s Secret Key series for kids, as well as the author of the adult novels Jaded and Run for Your Life. She lives in Cambridge with her son.

About The Illustrator

Photo Credit:

Garry Parsons is the award-winning illustrator of many books, including George’s Secret Key to the Universe, George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt, George and the Big Bang, George and the Unbreakable Code, and George and the Blue Moon by Lucy and Stephen Hawking; Billy’s Bucket by Kes Gray; and What’s Cool About School by Kate Agnew. He lives in London. Visit him at GarryParsons.co.uk.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (January 4, 2011)
  • Length: 304 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781442430105
  • Grades: 3 - 7
  • Ages: 8 - 12
  • Lexile ® 850L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

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Raves and Reviews

"The book gets points for tackling the recurrent tension between environmentalism and science, but it succeeds first and foremost as a good old-fashioned adventure tale."

– Natural History

*"What better way to interest young readers in science...than for one of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists to put his subect at the center of a children's book?...A true beginnger's guide to A Brief History of Time."

– Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[An] entertaining read-aloud that integrates well-presented scientific facts and theories within a charmingly illustrated chapter book."

– Booklist

"A relief for the science-deficient parent in need of a little extra help."

– New York Magazine

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More books from this illustrator: Garry Parsons

More books in this series: George's Secret Key