Albert Einstein by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Boris Kulikov Published by Viking Books, 2009 This book is recommended for young readers from 8 to 14 Lexile Reading Level 1050L (MetaMetrics) This biography in the Giants of Science series brings to life Albert Einstein as only Krull can. Kirkus Review describes the author’s vocabulary as “playful and collegial” (2010, June 24) and I agree. The author clearly had fun with her subject which helped make this book so interesting. The author kicks off her story with these words, “Albert Einstein had major bedhead” (p. 10). She knows that’s the image that first comes to mind when students think of Einstein so she embraces this description right off the bat and with a smile and a wink introduces us to the famous physicist. The book is written in an easy-flowing and fun narrative style. The author takes us through Einstein’s life from his birth in 1879 in a region of Germany known as Swabia (p. 18). She follows Einstein through his years in school, his life in Switzerland and again back in Germany, through two devastating world wars, and finally his later years in the U.S.. his adopted homeland, where he lived until his death in New Jersey in 1955. She writes of his family, especially his sister Maja and his Uncle Jakob with whom he was very close. Krull teaches us about Einstein’s genius, but also shows us the absent-minded goofball that he could be. He didn’t like to wear socks, for instance; he wasn’t concerned with his appearance at all. If he were working on a theory or an idea, he might forget to eat. She writes of the complicated relationship he had with his first wife Mileva Maric and doesn’t sugarcoat the fact that Albert wasn’t an ideal husband or father and was often sarcastic and even arrogant. Mostly, Krull lets us understand and embrace Einstein the man by offering us his own words in quotes both humorous and poignant throughout the book. In an oft-quoted story, Einstein explains relativity this way, “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity” (p. 67). A devoted pacifist, Einstein was deeply troubled about the part his ideas and theories played in the development of the atomic bomb. Once he wrote, “At such a time as this, one realizes what a sorry species of animal one belongs to” (p. 93). Enticing young readers to select nonfiction for fun isn’t easy and it takes great skill to bring a historical figure to life. Krull uses words like “yak” (p. 49) and “gabbing” (p. 61) to describe Einstein talking to his friends. While Krull was fortunate in her choice of subject (Einstein being a fascinating figure who was able to laugh at himself and others) her comfortable way of writing keeps her readers engaged and anxious to read more. If I have any real criticism of the book, particularly compared to others about Einstein, it would be that I would’ve liked to see more of Boris Kulikov’s illustrations. The cover picture of this book enticed me to read it with the silly upside-down image of Einstein looking at the Berne clock tower. Since the book featured no photographs at all, it would have been good to have had more illustrations of Einstein’s friends, family, and foes to literally help illustrate the story and help us appreciate the events. For young readers who can’t get enough of Einstein, an excellent choice for budding scientists is Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids by Jerome Pohlen which is filled with pictures and fun experiments to try. If reading about Einstein has kindled interest in physics in these readers, Physics: Why Matter Matters! by Dan Green is a fun, fast-paced and easy-to-understand introduction to terms like acceleration, mass, and potential energy. Of course, if the young reader really just likes biographies and enjoyed Kathleen Krull’s style, there are several other fun books in the Giants of Science series. She has written books about Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Marie Curie to name a few. Resources:
Kirkus Review. (2009, October 1). Kirkus Review: Albert Einstein. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kathleen-krull/albert-einstein-4/ Krull, K. (2009). Albert Einstein. New York: Viking. Lexile Framework for Reading. (2017). MetaMetrics, Inc. Retrieved from https://fab.lexile.com/book/details/9780670063321/
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