Just a Minute: Why Humans Tell Time

Key Selling Points

• This STEAM title provides a comprehensive overview of time and how and why we measure it, touching on the historical, scientific, practical, philosophical and literal ways time has always been a part of human life.
• Explores many facets of time, including animal time and natural cycles, physiology and biology of time in the human body, time and climate change, daylight saving time, lunar time and more.
• Additionally, this title introduces young readers to social concepts of time, including time across cultures (circular versus linear time and Indigenous ways of knowing), mindfulness versus busyness and time in mythology and storytelling.
• Features plenty of fun facts about the smallest units of time (zeptoseconds!), the recent discovery of time cells in the human brain, an explanation of how dogs know it's dinner time and how a walk in nature can slow down time.
• Kirstie Hudson and Monique Polak are award-winning authors of nonfiction books for kids. Kirstie Hudson's co-authored book, The Witness Blanket, won the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction and Monique Polak's book, What World is Left, won a Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature.

There are so many ways humans think of time every day! There’s lunchtime, snack time, bedtime, and we talk about saving time, killing time, keeping time, buying time and racing against time.

Our early ancestors measured time by observing the sun and moon, and today, thanks to technology, we can know the exact time every second of the day. But time is about more than numbers. It’s connected to feelings and memories, and our experiences can make time feel like it's moving too quickly or passing very, very slowly.

Just a Minute delves into the past, present and future of humans’ experience of time and how we track, use and try to manipulate it. Learn how the master timekeepers in our brains work, explore how animals and plants tell time and discover how our perception of time changes with what we’re doing and as we age. We can’t control time, but we can make every second count!

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Praise for Kirstie Hudson and Monique Polak

? “A chronicle that will galvanize many young artists with their own history to honor, and Americans will see parallels with our country’s history of assimilationist schooling.” —The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books, starred review for Picking Up the Pieces

? “A powerful testimony to the strength and resiliency of survivors and their families as well as the lasting impact that these institutions and policies have had within Indigenous communities. Highly recommended for school and public libraries." —Canadian Children's Book News, starred review for Picking Up the Pieces

?“The writing is fluid and easy to read, perfect for the middle school set…Polak’s text explores memory from numerous angles and adapts its tone accordingly, from humorous to respectful and solemn when needed. The real-life examples are fascinating, and readers will come away with in-depth knowledge on the mind…A must-have title for libraries.” —School Library Journal starred review for Remember This

Kirstie Hudson is an award-winning writer, editor and journalist. She was a long-time reporter and producer with CBC Radio. Kirstie coauthored two books with Indigenous artist Carey Newman. Picking Up the Pieces was a finalist for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize. The Witness Blanket was the winner of the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction and a finalist for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. As an instructor at the University of Victoria, Kirstie shared her love of storytelling with students in writing and journalism. She lives in Victoria, BC.

Monique Polak is the author of over 30 books for young people. She is a three-time winner of the Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Children’s and YA Literature, now called the Janet Savage Blachford Prize. Monique taught for 35 years at Marianopolis College in Montreal. She is also a freelance journalist whose stories have appeared frequently in the Montreal Gazette and in Postmedia publications across Canada. Her previous nonfiction titles include I Am a Feminist, Why Humans Work and Open Science: Knowledge for Everyone. Monique does writing workshops for kids and adults across the country. She lives in Montreal.

Paige Stampatori is an illustrator based in Kitchener, Ontario. She graduated from Sheridan College’s honors illustration program in 2020. Paige is the illustrator of Why We Need Vaccines: How Humans Beat Infectious Diseases.