By Andy Kirk | December 13, 2016 | Fieldnews

I wanted to briefly profile this beautifully produced new book, titled 'The Origin of (almost) Everything' from the New Scientist, authored by Graham Lawton and illustrated by the brilliant Jennifer Daniel.

The book poses and answers some of the key questions about where and how things originated, covering fundamental topics such as 'Why are we on the third rock from the Sun?' and 'When did life begin?' through to more diverse curiosities like 'Why are there so many types of creepy crawly?' and 'What's in your ears?'

They [New Scientist] and illustrator Jennifer Daniel want to take you on a whistlestop journey from the start of our universe (through the history of stars, galaxies, meteorites, the Moon and dark energy) to our planet (through oceans and weather to oil) and life (through dinosaurs to emotions and sex) to civilisation (from cities to alcohol and cooking), knowledge (from alphabets to alchemy) ending up with technology (computers to rocket science).

Structured across six distinct chapters - The Universe, Our Planet, Life, Civilisation, Knowledge, and Inventions - the book is packed full with clear, informative and engaging infographics, which creates a hugely accessible text for adults and children alike, pitched at just the right tone ('smart up' not 'talk down').