Review by Booklist Review
Slow to develop, Einstein retained a child's curiosity and determination to understand the world throughout a lifetime of scientific thinking. The breezy tone of this newest biography of the man whose name has become a synonym for genius is evident from its opening sentence: Albert Einstein had major bedhead. Starting with his childhood, she provides the main points of his public and private lives, including his efforts first in favor of and then in opposition to nuclear weapons. She doesn't gloss over his difficulties getting along with others, but sets those problems in the context of his breathtaking contributions: the quantum theory of light, proof of the existence of atoms, and special and general relativity. While Einstein's accomplishments may tower over those of the other scientists profiled in Krull's Giants of Science series, she explains them in a fashion appropriate for her middle school audience. Kulikov's drawings add to the humor, and a bibliography highlights additional reading. For independent readers and report writers, this is a very appealing addition to a long bookshelf.--Isaacs, Kathleen Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Krull once again demonstrates her ability to balance a description of the personality of a genius with the significance of his contribution to science. In 13 chapters, she addresses the myths of Einstein as a poorly performing student who "bugged his teachers" and an unlikely genius known for his "bedhead." The author employs colloquial terms and concrete examples to make her work both engaging and accessible to young audiences. While delivering Einstein's theories is a task few biographers could accomplish, Krull's use of imagery, like Einstein's own thought pictures, will give readers a reasonable idea of his theorems. Einstein is depicted as a rebel student, absentminded scientist, and distracted parent who made mistakes and had his regrets, but who also retained his curiosity and continued to work on answering the questions he imagined. The final chapter explains why he was important, and how modern experiments continue to prove his theories. Kulikov's pen-and-ink illustrations offer lighthearted interpretations of the text. A useful list of quality resources indicates which titles are appropriate for young readers.-Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) With her very first sentence -- "Albert Einstein had major bedhead" -- Krull immediately draws readers into her engrossing and remarkably accessible biography of the high-school dropout turned Nobel-winning physicist whose "ideas make your head spin, in a down-the-rabbit-hole, Alice in Wonderland sort of way." To her credit, Krull does an admirable job of explaining Einstein's revolutionary theories (special relativity, E=mc2, general relativity, etc.), four of which he churned out in 1905, his "miracle year." Krull lingers just enough over his childhood and schooling to give readers time to connect with young Einstein, the kid nicknamed "the dopey one" and the "big bore" who would ultimately "give science a whole new way of looking at reality, at the relationship between matter, motion, time, space, and energy." As in the other books in the series, Krull steers clear of hero worship, matter-of-factly describing Einstein's relationships with his children and the women in his life, who could never compete with science for his attention. Popping up every few chapters, Kulikov's pen-and-ink illustrations capture Einstein's curiosity and imagination -- and his unforgettable finger-in-a-light-socket hairstyle. Sources and index (unseen) are appended. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
As she did for Giants of Science Leonardo, Newton, Freud and Curie before him, Krull delivers a splendidly humane biography of that gold standard of brilliance, Albert Einstein. The narrative ably contextualizes his youth against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving technological society and within a secular Jewish family that valued education, showing that his single-minded pursuit of raw thought developed naturally. Drawing extensively on Einstein's writings, she presents a fully rounded portrait of a man whose genius combined with a bad temper and arrogance, to the detriment of his own professional advancement, not to mention his relationships with women and his children. Using concrete examples, the author brings such mind-bending notions as his General Theory of Relativity within the grasp of child readers. In following his career, she also makes readers aware of the intimate connections between politicsboth academic and internationaland science. Her vocabulary is, as always, both playful and collegial: "His ideas made your head spin, in a down-the-rabbit-hole, Alice in Wonderland sort of way." Another standout in a uniformly stellar series; here's hoping Einstein isn't the last Giant. (Biography. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
