Q&A with Steve Tomecek, author of The Greatest Stuff on Earth – The Federation of Children’s Book Groups

We love a Q&A with authors and illustrators- it gives us great insight into where their book began and how it came to be! Check out today’s with Steve Tomecek, author of The Greatest Stuff on Earth.

Q&A with Steve Tomecek, author of The Greatest Stuff on Earth

The Greatest Stuff on Earth is a quirky, surprise-filled and light-hearted romp through the stuff that makes up our world, from atoms, elements and light, to water, soil and DNA, to buildings, books and smartphones. Author Steve Tomecek holds a degree in Geology and has 30 years’ experience educating children (and their teachers) about science in a super fun, friendly way.

The Greatest Stuff on Earth makes basic scientific facts – the groundwork of the world we live in – thrilling. But it also focuses on how we need to understand the “stuff” around u s. Why is this so important?

Wow… I could write an entire book on this question, but the short answer is that people need to have a basic understanding of how things work in order to make informed decisions about their daily lives. Unfortunately, we live in a world full of misinformation and even disinformation where science itself is under attack. This noise makes it really difficult to sort out fact from fiction. The more people understand about the phenomena and processes that govern their lives, the better equipped they are to make decisions that ultimately best serve their needs.

Given the many inventions you explore in The Greatest Stuff on Earth, what would you say is humanity’s most exciting, impressive, or simply engaging creation? Why?

Children ask me this all the time and I honestly don’t have a single answer because each new invention often leads to other, better inventions. But if I must choose one, I’d have to say the development of complex language and the ability to write stuff down… Okay, that’s two, but being able to communicate and to pass information down to future generations is what I think separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom.

The Greatest Stuff on Earth not only explains the science behind tools and technologies, but also takes these complex innovations eg the battery, refrigeration, back to their roots. Why did you choose to bring history and science together in this way?

It’s incredibly important for children (and adults for that matter) to understand that the “stuff” we have in our modern-day world didn’t just magically appear. Just about everything we use today came about as the result of a long line of discoveries and creations where one person built on the work of someone who came before. Whenever I visit schools, students love to hear me tell the stories of the people behind the “stuff”. So I now always include the people who made the “stuff” possible. It adds a human touch that we could use more of.

How does your scientific expertise change the way you interact with the world? Do you notice the science of things around you in your daily life?

Absolutely! I love trying to figure out the processes behind everyday phenomena. When I was 7 years old, I found my first fern fossil and I was amazed when my Uncle Joe told me how those plants filled giant swamps millions of years ago and over time turned into the coal used in our stove. He taught me how to observe the world and most importantly to ask questions about it. Now, I’m doing the same thing with my 3-year-old granddaughter Lorenza, to whom the book is dedicated. She’s already doing science by observing the world and trying to figure out how things work. She, and millions of other curious children just like her, are why I do what I do. They give me hope that in the future our world will be in good hands.

THE GREATEST STUFF ON EARTH by Steve Tomecek, illustrated by John Devolle out now in hardback,  What on Earth

Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Federation.