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Biography & Autobiography. Juvenile Nonfiction. Science. HTML: A boy rides a bicycle down a dusty road. But in his mind, he envisions himself traveling at a speed beyond imagining, on a beam of light. This brilliant mind will one day offer up some of the most revolutionary ideas ever conceived. From a boy endlessly fascinated by the wonders around him, Albert Einstein ultimately grows into a man of genius recognized the world over for profoundly illuminating our understanding of the universe. Jennifer Berne and Vladimir Radunsky invite the reader to travel along with Einstein on a journey full of curiosity, laughter, and scientific discovery. Parents and children alike will appreciate this moving story of the powerful difference imagination can make in any life..… (more)
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When Einstein was little, he imagined racing through space on a beam of light. What would happen if he did that? He began to read and study. He continued to wonder about everything even as an adult:
"Albert watched a lump of sugar dissolve and disappear into his hot tea. How could this happen? He watched the smoke from his pipe swirl and disappear into the air. How could one thing disappear into another?"
He thought about very big things, like the size of the universe, and very small things, like what goes on inside the tiniest particles.
Some of his ideas about how things worked are presented in a simple way, but mostly there are just indications of the importance of his thinking:
"Albert’s ideas helped build spaceships and satellites that travel to the moon and beyond. His thinking helped us understand our universe as no one ever had before.”
Best of all, the book asserts that “Albert left us many big questions....Questions that someday YOU may answer...by wondering, thinking, and imagining.”
Illustrator Radunsky is a treasure. His pen and ink images on textured paper defy space and gravity, pay homage to evolution, and show how the medium can be meta, as with his use of pointillism on the pages devoted to Einstein’s meditations on atoms, and his playful expression of perspective: it's all relative! The cleverness and whimsy of the pictures is a perfect fit for the story of Einstein.
End notes include a list of additional resources.
Evaluation: I have looked at the pictures over and over in this book. Chronicle Books, which specializes in works of art and design, has done an excellent job in putting together this book. It will encourage young children to see not only the possibilities of imagination, but will also give them an appreciation for the beauty and delight of artistic rendition.
Highly recommended!
I would use this book for first through fourth grade
To to it off in the back with the author's note is some of Albert's scientific findings and more about him. This is where this book could easily be integrated into a science lesson or introduction. It becomes more than just a fun book about Albert Einstein and becomes a lesson and gives students a greater background on him and his findings.
Teaching Ideas: do an atom art project