Berne (Manfish) and Radunsky (Hip Hop Dog) create an inspired tribute to Einstein, a man who "asked questions never asked before. Found answers never found before. And dreamed up ideas never dreamt before." The book moves briskly through Einstein's quiet, inquisitive childhood (a magnetic compass helped trigger his interest in the "mysteries in the world—hidden and silent, unknown and unseen") to his accomplishments as an adult. Radunsky's loose, hulking ink caricatures capture the gleam in Einstein's eye at every age. When Berne explains how Einstein helped prove the existence of atoms, Radunsky uses dots to underscore the idea in the accompanying image ("Even this book is made of atoms!" the scientist gleefully explains, breaking the fourth wall). Einstein's lifelong curiosity sings through every page, and Berne emphasizes that readers are heir to that same spirit of discovery. In the closing scene, Radunsky pictures a boy, girl—and dog!—wearing rather Einsteinian plaid suits, staring at a field of question marks with a familiar gleam in their eyes. Ages 6–9. Author's agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (May)
"Don't miss this book. " - Kid Lit Frenzy
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Booklist Top Ten Science Book of 2013
Columbus Dispatch The Best of the Best of the Year
Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books of the Year
"Whimsical and illuminating, this beautifully illustrated picture-book biography accomplishes a daunting task: to introduce the life and work of Albert Einstein to young readers."—Book Links, 2013 Lasting Connections
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013
New York Times Editor's Choice
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
"Einstein's lifelong curiosity sings through every page."-Publishers Weekly, starred review
"I was wowed by this book."—Robin Smith, The Horn Book Blog
"Einstein positively glows, radiating love and intelligence."-The Washington Post
"It's impossible not to be inspired, not only by Einstein himself but also by this dazzling account of his life and imagination."—BookPage
"It's not easy to explain Einstein to young readers, but this terrific book pulls it off."—Bookist Top 10 Biographies for Youth
"Makes genius Albert Einstein seem accessible." - Nerdy Book Club
"On a Beam of Light reminds us that imagination is important, and that thinking is valuable. A great message for the little scientist in your life!" - Emily, bookseller, Hooray for Books!
"Remarkable." - Mamarama, Redbook's Mom Blog Council
"Richly imagined, beautifully designed, impressionistic biography." - School Library Journal, starred review
"Simply voiced, with word choices and illustrations as exciting as the subject."—Herald-Sun Best Books of 2013
"Something of an It Gets Better Project for mathematically precocious children."—The New York Times
"Sure to captivate young readers." - ReaderKidz
"This is the best way to humanize such a larger-than-life historical figure." — North Adams Transcript
"Truly amazing." - The Horn Book, starred review
"Utterly charming."-The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"A book as special as its subject." - Booklist, starred review
"A celebration of curiosity."—Design Mom
"A delight for the sense... this elegant new picture book might just be that physical gift to spur on the next generation of wonderers." - Out With the Kids
"A delightful book and I would use it in my classroom." - Marilyn Cook, PreK-5 teacher, NSTA National Science Teachers Association Reccomends
Gr 2–6—The name Einstein is synonymous with genius, but what does that mean to a child? Einstein himself would only admit to being "very, very curious." Berne's picture book offers readers few biographical details, focusing instead on the physicist's intellect through the concepts that puzzled and excited him. He was late to start speaking and not particularly verbal-until he received a compass. As the author explains, "Suddenly he knew there were mysteries in the world-hidden and silent, unknown and unseen." And suddenly, too, he was bursting with questions-questions about magnetism, light, sound, gravity, and later, atoms, motion, and time. This was a person who spent his life "imagining, wondering, figuring and thinking." Radunsky's delightful pen-and-ink illustrations on cornmeal-yellow pages flecked with fibers and earth-tone highlights depict events from the man's life, his thoughts, and a few of his quirks. Einstein's old-world European childhood is reflected in the formal dress of the adults that loom over him. In an image that expresses his love of numbers, computations swirl around him. Selected lines in a large, red font add emphasis, and comments in the few dialogue bubbles are handwritten in a scratchy, black line. An endnote adds information on the physicist's thought experiments, his sense of humor, E=mc², and the atomic bomb. When considering an author's approach, Lynne Barasch's picture book Ask Albert Einstein (Farrar, 2005) and Mareé Ferguson Delano's photobiography, Genius (National Geographic, 2005) are noteworthy comparisons to this richly imagined, beautifully designed, impressionistic biography.—Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal
A boy who asked too many questions becomes iconic physicist Albert Einstein, whose questions changed the world. The author of Manfish (illustrated by Eric Puybaret, 2008) presents another dreamer, a man who "asked questions never asked before. / Found answers never found before. / And dreamed up ideas never dreamt before." Story and perfectly matched illustrations begin with the small boy who talked late, watched and thought, and imagined traveling through space on a light beam. Readers see the curious child growing into the man who constantly read and learned and wondered. With gouache, pen and ink, Radunsky's humorous, childlike drawings convey Einstein's personality as well as the important ideas in the text (which are set out in red letters). The narrative text includes several of Einstein's big ideas about time and space; one illustration and the back endpapers include the famous formula. The mottled, textured paper of each page reinforces the concept that everything is made of atoms. A nice touch at the end shows children who might also wonder, think and imagine dressed in the professor's plaid suit. An author's note adds a little more about the person and the scientist. For today's curious children, this intriguing and accessible blend of words and pictures will provide a splendid introduction to a man who never stopped questioning. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)
