With the holidays on the horizon, its gems like Where, the Why, and the How, a new hardcover, that are going to help check off that gift to-do list that much quicker. Whimsical, wonderful and quirky? Check!

Published by Chronicle Books, answers to some of science’s most fun questions—like “Why do we blush?” or “What existed before the Big Bang?” are unveiled in delightful illustrations. The best parts, however, may be the contributions from 75 artists—free-form illustrations that riff on the scientific essays with as much literality or imagination as the artist chose.

The result of this collaboration is like a science book published by The New Yorker. Images range from 1980s textbooks homages (coral!) to dinosaur watercolors to Escherian mind-benders to straight-up trippy, surrealist work that would be at home on an album cover.

Read the full article here at Fast Company Design or purchase the book here!