On a Beam of Light

As the author, Jennifer Berne, states in her author's note, there are hundreds of books written about Albert Einstein and she read more than 50 of them.  In "On a Beam of Light" she presented information about Einstein in such a way that my 4 year old daughter asked to read it twice at bedtime tonight.  That is an achievement in and of itself.  And telling that such a young child was engrossed by his story.  I've seen images of his messy workplace before stating it was the workplace of a genius to justify colleague's desks and those of students, but I hadn't known before that Einstein was a late talker.  Makes sense that he was, perhaps, absorbing the natural world around him.  My daughter asked what the word behaved meant and I tried to explain that the teachers didn't think he was being "good" because he was asking so many questions but that we know questions are good.  And that it's not always good to act the same as everyone else.  Reading the story to her helped me to see and hear it from her perspective.  Hopefully, she will recognize the genius of wondering, thinking, and imagining.

Vladimir Radunsky's illustrations felt playful to me and as I read more of Berne's author's note, that seemed very fitting as Einstein was playful as well.

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein

ISBN: 978-0-8118-7235-5

Published 2013 by Chronicle Books

I borrowed this copy from my public library to read and review.