Erno Rubik and His Magic Cube

by Kerry Aradhya, Kara Kramer (Illustrator)

Overview

This first picture book biography of Rubik’s Cube creator Erno Rubik reveals the obsession, imagination, and engineering process behind creating an iconic puzzle.

Celebrating 50 years of the most popular puzzle in history!

In the hills of Budapest, near the banks of the Danube River, lived a quiet boy named Ernő Rubik. He loved books, art, nature, and—most of all—puzzles. And he grew up to create the most popular puzzle in history. This picture book biography explores the experience and interests that inspired the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube.

From the time he was a child, Ernő was curious about the objects around him. What did they look like on the inside? What about geometric shapes? How many ways could he fit them together? Could he combine them so they somehow became something that was greater than its components?

Ernő grew up and became a professor of architecture and design. Still fascinated with how shapes worked together, he fashioned an object, a cube made up of smaller cubes that twisted and turned without breaking. This object eventually became known as the most popular puzzle in history, the Rubik’s Cube.

Kerry Aradhya’s accessible text takes us behind the scenes of the creative process and into the mind and imagination of a remarkable inventor. Kara Kramer’s cheerful, multi-media illustrations encourage readers to think about inspiration, reflection, and the joy of puzzles—and solutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682636640
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	06/11/2024
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	384,820
Product dimensions:	10.29(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.32(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kerry Aradhya is a science writer and editor who loves to puzzle over words and immerse herself in the creative process. Although she might beat you at Scrabble, she has yet to solve more than one side of a Rubik’s Cube. She is much better at twisting and turning in the dance studio, where you’ll usually find her when she’s not tapping away on her laptop. Kerry lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and their cute but naughty pooch named Sofie. Ernő Rubik and His Magic Cube is her debut picture book.

Kara Kramer is an illustrator of picture books, including Make Meatballs Sing: The Life and Art of Corita Kent, and illustrator-author of Tell Me a Lion Story. She is happiest when her hands are moving through some kind of making. The how of the creative process is her favorite puzzle to twist and turn and learn from always. She lives and colors her way in Brooklyn.

Editorial Reviews

04/15/2024

Growing up in Budapest, Erno˝ Rubik (b. 1944) was a studious kid with a passion for puzzles, patterns, and playing with geometric shapes. “Tangrams, pentominoes, and pentacubes helped him imagine all the possibilities,” writes debut author Aradhya in a brisk, reportorial style. As an adult teacher who’d studied art and architecture, he developed three-dimensional models to use as classroom aids and wondered about building “a big cube out of smaller cubes that moved around each other and stayed connected.” Following the puzzle-like creation of what would become the Rubik’s Cube, Kramer uses sketch-like mixed-media images to break down the process, vividly capturing the serendipity, setbacks, and grit that eventually get Rubik to “twenty-six little cubes and one round mechanical core.” Even readers who find the invention more maddening than “magic” should be captivated by this tale of imagination, tenacity, and a global phenomenon that’s still going strong. More information and an author’s note conclude. Ages 4–8. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Even readers who find the invention more maddening than "magic" should be captivated by this tale of imagination, tenacity, and a global phenomenon that's still going strong."—Publishers Weekly

"A whimsical tribute to the maker of the famous, frustrating, and absorbing puzzle."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2024-02-17
Ernő Rubik grows from a solitary but curious, puzzle-loving child into a determined adult.

Born in Budapest in 1944, Ernő liked to manipulate shapes, playing with “tangrams, pentominoes, and pentacubes”—all depicted in the art. He appreciated nature, too, and as he grew up, he studied architecture and art and became a teacher. While building models to help his students learn about three-dimensional shapes, he became intrigued by cubes: “Would it be possible to build a big cube out of smaller cubes that moved around each other and stayed connected?” He started with eight cubes, attaching them with paper clips and rubber bands. That didn’t work, but he persevered and subsequently devised the 26-cube model. But how to hold it together? Ernő was inspired when he observed a rushing river moving around smooth pebbles. Similarly, his small cubes could move around a fixed mechanical center—and finally, he added colors on each side. Ernő was just 29 when he invented the Rubik’s Cube in 1974; more than a billion people would eventually play with his toy. The straightforward narrative ends with backmatter noting that Rubik didn’t intend to create a puzzle, and when he realized what it was, it took him a month to solve it. The bright, naïve collage artwork is quirky and inventive: Rubik’s head is sometimes cubic, and perspective is at times skewed.

A whimsical tribute to the maker of the famous, frustrating, and absorbing puzzle. (author’s note, resources) (Picture-book biography. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews