Relatively informative, though the change of language and country leave a few rough spots, and there are already more than a...
The “most important scientist of the 20th century” (not even “arguably”) tells his personal story amid explanations of his contributions to our understanding of how the universe works.
Novelli adds comical notes to the first-person chronicle with loosely drawn cartoons of Einstein—sporting his trademark frizzy hair from the cradle on and often with protruding tongue to boot—along with a cat (Schrödinger’s, presumably) and other figures. The author also offers interleaved nontechnical third-person descriptions of the great man’s insights into light, time, relativity, matter and energy, and other related topics. The uncredited translator is casual with tenses (“I grow up with the spread of electric lighting, which had quite an impact on the first part of my life”), and a publicity photo of Einstein wearing a feathered headdress (recast on an earlier page into an even more offensive cartoon) is, at best, an anachronistic flub. Still, this is an illuminating profile that takes as proper note of the great brain’s pacifism as it does of his revolutionary ideas. Co-published in the Flashes of Genius series, Darwin and the True Story of the Dinosaurs likewise combines informal fictive autobiography (“I certainly didn’t come this far to goof off”) with side notes on his significant ideas and their historical context. Both volumes close with “dictionaries” of appropriate terms and colleagues.
Relatively informative, though the change of language and country leave a few rough spots, and there are already more than a few similar profiles available. (Biography. 10-13)Pub Date: June 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61373-865-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
This glossy, colorful title in the “I Want To Be” series has visual appeal but poor organization and a fuzzy focus, which limits its usefulness. Each double-paged layout introduces a new topic with six to eight full-color photographs and a single column of text. Topics include types of environmentalists, eco-issues, waste renewal, education, High School of Environmental Studies, environmental vocabulary, history of environmentalism, famous environmentalists, and the return of the eagle. Often the photographs have little to do with the text or are marginal to the topic. For example, a typical layout called “Some Alternative Solutions” has five snapshots superimposed on a double-page photograph of a California wind farm. The text discusses ways to develop alternative forms of energy and “encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles.” Photos include “a healer who treats a patient with alternative therapy using sound and massage,” and “the Castle,” a house built of “used tires and aluminum cans.” Elsewhere, “Did You Know . . . ” shows a dramatic photo of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but the text provides odd facts such as “ . . . that in Saudi Arabia there are solar-powered pay phones in the desert?” Some sections seem stuck in, a two-page piece on the effects of “El Niño” or 50 postage-stamp–sized photos of endangered species. The author concludes with places to write for more information and a list of photo credits. Pretty, but little here to warrant purchase. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-201862-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
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