Book Summary:
The book follows Einstein through his life, from his birth in Germany, his childhood, where he was a hot-tempered child who disliked everything but music and math, to his adulthood, where he did his physics research in the evenings, sharing time with his family duties. There are some misstatements, which are clarified in the back of the book, such as references to his winning the Nobel Prize for E=Mc2, whereas he won it for his work on the nature of light in 1921.
APA Reference:
Brown, D. (2004). Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
My Impressions:
I found the book amusing, as it lends life to the younger years of Einstein. His interest in building "house[s] of cards" and how "builds one fourteen stories high" is quite intriguing, and also, his hot temper, which includes a warning beforehand of "his nose go[ing] white" made me laugh. I found it quite interesting, too, that he did not speak for such a long time, but then immediately launched into witty language, skipping the baby noises altogether. This book is a good one for kids in that it will give the odd ones hope while giving teachers a reason to give every kid a chance to be a genius. The reviewer below notes his responses being "halted," while the book uses the term, "lingering," so there might be a different of opinion about Einstein's communication style.
Professional Review:
"It matters not a whit if young listeners have ever heard of the twentieth century's renowned genius. They will probably feel they've already met this eccentric little guy somewhere--the introverted kid with the bad temper, the one who'd rather unknot a puzzle than kick a soccer ball, the student who pulls decent grades but drives teachers loony with his halting responses. Brown is again at his best as he zeroes in on those telling traits that trim a larger-than-life figure down to size: Albert whacks his little sister in the head with a hoe, he is disturbed by the sight of soldiers on parade, he suffers from homesickness when separated from his family, and he can't get into college on his first try. As scratchy line-and-watercolor scenes tail the melancholy loner amid mundane social settings in which he keeps furtively to himself, the text plumbs the boy's thoughts that go unsuspected by those around him: "What would it be like to ride a light beam? he wonders"; "Albert's ideas make a picture of space and time and energy and matter that no one has ever seen before." As Einstein the father absentmindedly pushes his child's baby carriage along a Zurich street, the scene segues into a fantasy spread in which the pair are surrounded by galaxies, atoms, equations, and a clock whose numerals are warped by . . . by what? Brown doesn't demand the audience comprehend the science: "For scientists, Albert's discoveries mean the photoelectric effect, theories of relativity, and E=mc2. For the rest of us, his ideas mean automatic door openers, television, space travel, and atomic energy." An endnote offers more information on Einstein's Nobel Prize and on his arm's-length relationship to the atomic bomb. Hmmm--maybe that withdrawn little kid who doesn't concentrate during storytime is really a genius in the making. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Houghton, 32p, $16.00. Ages 5-8 yrs."
Bush, E. (2004). [Book review of the book Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein by Don Brown]. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 58(2). Retrieved from Children's Literature Database via Ebscohost: http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2378/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~pG6guy:1
Library Uses:
This would be the ideal book for a small class or group. For a group of special needs kids, for students that might be intimidated by science or ever afraid or has socialization issues, this book would assist him or her in realizing that while he or she might be different, but end up contributing greatly later in life. The librarian could share a list of those who were criticized or thought stupid early in life who ended up being great successes in life, such as Einstein, Disney, and others.
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