Just a Minute! — Jeff Szpirglas

Far more than just another picture book, Just a Minute couples a delightfully zany story with a fact-filled look at just what can occur in the course of a minute  -- or an hour, a day, a month, or a year. The story follows Gary, who's a mere 5 million minutes old, throughout his day, which takes some decidedly unusual turns involving a monkey caper, animals escaping from the zoo and crashing a movie set, and bounteous backyard hi-jinks before the animals can be rounded up and safely returned to their enclosures. As readers hop aboard for the ride, they learn many facts, featured in colorful pop-ups, about what can happen in a minute in the world all around them. With Jeff Szpirglas' wacky humor on full display, Just a Minute taps into children's sense of fun while offering an accessible, well-researched look at the meaning of time. A helpful time-facts index is included at the back of the book.