Module 12 Biographies

Book Cover:



Book Summary:
From the time Albert was born he was odd and different. He was taken with math and found being with others hard but dealing with questions he had and answering them fascinating to him. His life story continues until his adulthood telling about how being different actually helped him with his science ideas. At the end there is an author note explaining a little bit more about his ideas.

APA Reference of Book:

Brown, D. (2014). Odd boy out: young Albert Einstein. Boston, MA: National Braille Press.

Impressions:
Pen drawn pictures with the muddy watercolors helps you think of that time period and when Albert starts to do good things the pictures brighten up a little bit. It kind of gives a dreary or sad feel to the story. I found that the author showed Einstein as a troubled boy and adult but didn't really talk a lot about his positives until the end. I think due to the time period he really was way ahead of his time and was criticized and not given credit due to his religion for a long time. I did like that it showed he persevered through his hardships and being different and didn't let that stop him for questioning and wondering to come up with the theory of relativity. The story was more tell than showing so may be a little dry for students.

Professional Review:

Gr 2-5-- This well-crafted picture-book biography focuses on Einstein's hard-to-classify brilliance, which led to awesome scientific discoveries, but all too often left him a misunderstood outsider. Brown describes his subject's loving, cultured parents who were frequently nonplussed by their son's behavior and temper. He found himself the "odd boy" at school, and as the only Jewish student, was sometimes taunted by other children. He puzzled his instructors as well; though clearly gifted in science, math, and music, he was an indifferent student in most subjects. Brown's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, rendered in a palette of dusky mauve and earthy brown, portray a doubtful, somewhat unhappy-looking child, except for a picture in which he gazes fondly at a compass, a gift that astonishes him as he ponders its mysteries. In many scenes he is marginalized on the sidelines, set apart by color and shading. One dramatic spread features an adult Einstein pushing his child in a carriage, looking small against a backdrop that highlights some of the scientific puzzles that so engaged him. Through eloquent narrative and illustration, Brown offers a thoughtful introduction to an enigmatic man. This book will pique the interest of readers with little or no knowledge of Einstein.

Jones, T. E., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., Larkins, J., & Taniguchi, M. (2004). Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein (Book). School Library Journal, 50(10),  138-139.

Library Uses:
Good to use when talking about biographies and inventors. Most have heard of Einstein but don't know why he is important. Also good to read when talking about perseverance, not giving up, and being different.

My Rating: ***

Slimy, Spiky, Smooth: What is Texture? Review

Slimy, Spiky, Smooth: What Is Texture? by Jane Brocket
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**Provided by NetGalley/Publisher for honest review**

I must say that Texture is a very hard subject to talk about sometimes, particularly with ESL/Second Language learners who have very little experience with vocabulary. Also my students also seem to have little back ground other than with simple texture vocabulary. Words like smooth, hard, and soft are easy to come up with but harder or more descriptive and juicy words are not as common (aha I used a texture word!)

I loved the bright colorful pictures in this book because they chose for the most part pictures that were easy to see the textures and used mostly everyday objects. They were also close up but you could still identify with what it was. I only had 2 complaints: with the butterfly they really couldn't tell why it was powdery from the picture and when they talked about the watermelon's skin and inside they only showed the outside of an unusual looking watermelon or at least angle of the shot (round watermelon with no stripes). Some kids may not have seen the inside of a watermelon before to know that it is juicy. However with both of these you can bring in additional pictures to supplement this. Not a major distraction or problem.

I also loved the vocabulary that described the textures and explain why it was that texture. Usually they gave 2 words too which was even better! Since it is very vocabulary rich I would use it as a read aloud for all levels and for individual reading on their own for possibly high 2nd grade or 3-5 grade.

I sure wished I had this book when I taught summer school to ESL/Bilingual Science students! I really had a hard time coming up with a book that had great pictures as well as vocabulary. This book will be highly recommended for that as well as any grade that talks about texture in science or writing!