Summary
This book is an early reader picture
book biography of Albert Einstein. It covers his life from his birth
to early adulthood. The book describes Einstein's imperfections as
a baby when his mother laments that his head seems too big. His
parents worry when he does not talk, but when Albert does finally
talk, he is "clever and sharp." Albert is cruel to his
little sister, Maja. Even before entering grade school Albert
displays a terrible temper and when he is unhappy, he throws a
tantrum. When he decides that he likes something, he becomes
entirely focused and will build a tower of cards with patience and
care. When his family moves to Munich, Albert is allowed to roam the
city streets alone when he is only four years old. Things that would
normally excite children only disturb Albert. While Albert does well
in school, his focus is only on music and math. He does not like the
languages that he is taught. His teachers think he is a slow
thinker, sometimes becoming angry at Albert for seeming distracted.
As Albert grows older, his parents move to Italy, leaving Albert to
finish his schooling in Germany. But Albert becomes so ill that he
is sent to join his family in Milan. There, Albert becomes absorbed
in increasingly difficult math problems, sometimes to the
exclusiveness of all else. When he tried to enter a University, he
failed the entrance exam because he only focused on math instead of
all the other subjects. Finally, after studying for a year, Albert
was allowed into the Zurich Polytechnic College in Switzerland to
learn science. After finishing school, Albert worked as a clerk in
the Swiss patent office. This job was not one for a great scientist,
but the mundane work allowed Albert to think about his ideas. The
book ends with comments on Albert's Nobel Prize and his discovery of
the photoelectric effect, his theories of mass and energy, and that
of relativity.
Impressions
This is an impressive book because it
manages to convey Albert Einstein's life in simple terms for young
children to understand. It portrays Albert and all his
idiosyncrasies in such a way that children will find a sympathetic
connection with this imperfect boy. What I find useful is the idea
that Albert does not try to fit into what society thinks as the norm.
Albert was content to forge his own path and remain absorbed on what
fascinated him. Once he found something to be important, he ignored
what others told him to do and focused on what he wanted. Even
though this temperamental side of Albert hindered his ability to pass
the entrance exam for college, his determination to be a scientist
helped him through an additional year of studying in order to be
accepted into school. At first glance, the theme of this book is
Albert's oddness as a child, but upon reflection, another theme
emerged. Albert's focus on solving problems that the rest of the
world did not even find remotely interesting, that was what made him
able to succeed.
Use in the library
This is a good book to use in an
elementary library to introduce young children to the biography
genre. It could be used for a storytime with activities that include
making a home made compass. The materials required are a needle, a
magnet, a piece of waxed paper, and a small bowl of water. Use the
magnet to rub the needle in one direction to magnetize the needle.
The magnetized end of the needle can be marked with a permanent
market so that the children will be able to see which end should
point north. Pass the needle through the waxed paper and lay it on
top of the water so that it floats. As the needle begins to turn
north, take out a compass to prove to the students that this craft
truly works.
Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
"From his birth in Ulm-a spread of rooftops with one speech bubble: "Waaaaaa"-to his early adulthood, Einstein's childhood and youth are humanely and humorously depicted. As the title indicates, the narrative focuses on its subject's oddness, describing both his outbursts of anger and his capacity for single-minded concentration. Einstein emerges as a singular boy, one whose brilliance was masked by poor performance in school. There is no real attempt to explain Einstein's theorems, delivering just enough to serve as an introduction for primary graders. Illustrations are mostly classic Brown: loose ink-and-watercolor cartoons in a muted palette emphasize Einstein as a lone, brooding figure. Two remarkable illustrations, however, give the reader a glimpse into Einstein's brain: first, a tiny Einstein gazes up at a swirling array of geometric shapes-"a wonderwork to him"-and second, Einstein pushes a pram against a surreal backdrop that conceptually joins the structure of the atom to the warping of space and time. Kids won't need to understand relativity to appreciate Einstein's passage from lonely oddball to breathtaking genius. An author's note and bibliography fill out this terrific package."
From Booklist
"Young readers won't come away from Brown's newest picture-book biography understanding the theory of relativity, but they will be heartened by the parallels between their own experiences and those of an iconic science guy. The author-illustrator of Mack Made Movies (2003) and other books presents the future Nobel Prize winner as a sallow, sunken-eyed little boy who lingers on the sidelines as other boys roughhouse, spends hours building a house of cards "fourteen stories high," and vexes his teachers (one tells him that "he would never get anywhere in life"). Brown's language dips into vagueness when it's time to describe the mature scientist's contributions, and the accompanying artwork is often disappointingly generic, awkwardly incorporating computer-generated elements that overwhelm the delicate ink-and-watercolor style used elsewhere. Still, this joins Frida Wishinsky's What's the Matter with Albert? (2002) as one of the very few picture-book biographies of Einstein available. Try giving it to older elementary students, who will get the most out of the detailed author's note and bibliography featuring many books for adults." Reviewed by Jennifer Mattson.
Resources
Brown, D. (2003). Odd boy out:
young Albert Einstein. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.
[Review of the book Odd boy out: young
Albert Einstein by D. Brown]. (2004). Kirkus Reviews. 72(17).
Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Mattson, J. (2004, Sept. 1). [Review
of the book Odd boy out: young Albert Einstein by D. Brown]'
Booklist. 101(1).
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