List price: $19.95 (that's 30% off!)
I loved the way Billy found the courage to face his fears and conquer the challenge of interviewing a genius like Albert Einstein. I liked that it shows that it's okay to daydream, to think about life in a different way than the people around us think, and that if you face your fears, you can accomplish many things in life. There will always be people who feel that because someone thinks "outside of the box" or appears absent-minded, something is wrong with us.
I loved the childlike style of Billy's four questions and that the answers were actually in Einstein's own words. And I thought it was a good lesson to show that Billy was able to do further research and write another story on his own once Albert Einstein 'opened the door' to Billy's quest for knowledge.
This story will teach my granddaughter that our imagination is what makes us unique, that once you take the first step and just do your very best, you can accomplish great things, in spite of your fears.
On a personal level, I think I related to this story because as a child, I always felt "different" and didn't look at things in the same way as other kids did. I was a daydreamer, couldn't concentrate in school and often got into trouble because my mind wandered.
I wish I had been able to read this book when I was young - I'm sure it would have made me feel that it was okay to look at things differently, to ask questions, to always be curious. (I'm a cookbook author today, so I guess I succeeded in spite of myself!)
Thanks to the author for a wonderful book! I also loved the illustrations and the way they were integrated into the story. They remind me of Norman Rockwell's artistic style. Well done!
Norene Gilletz
I thought this book shared some fascinating facts about Einstein's life in a cute and unintimidating way - a fictional character's (a cub reporter with the Princeton Elementary School News) interview with Albert Einstein. At the end of the interview the young reporter asks Albert four more questions. My favorite, and I hope the author doesn't mind me sharing this one, is "What makes you think up all those great ideas?" I loved Einstein's answer - "I use my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world". There are several great quotes from Einstein in the book.
I bought this book for two of my 8 year old nephews. I hope they will have as much fun reading it as I did and will be encouraged to let their imaginations fly and take them to all sorts of interesting thoughts and places.
Billy, a shy young reporter for the school newspaper goes to interview Einstein to find out what he was like as a child. To his surprise, the great genius had lots of problems when he was a boy. Any child who has ever felt shy, inadequate or less than a star will relate to the young Einstein, who was late to talk, not a star in school, and subject to bursts of bad temper.
Wishinsky's style invites the reader to explore Einstein's world in a variety of interesting ways. These include the text of his final report on Einstein "When he Grew Up," a timeline of the important dates in his life and an excerpt from Billy's notebook, with answers in Einstein's actual words. For example, to the question "Why don't you wear socks?'", Einstein asnwers "When I was young I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in the sock. So I stopped wearing socks."
Children will find the man and the story irresistable. Told in clear, engaging prose and dialogue, WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH ALBERT EINSTEIN? will delight all young readers. Jaques Lamontagne's illustrations of Einstein at different periods of his life will round out the familiar image of the frizzy-haired genius.
Frieda Wishinsky has added to the long list of books about Albert Einstein one that truly makes him accessible, and that will be treasured by children of all ages.
List price: $65.00 (that's 30% off!)
The bulk of Borowitz's volume is given over to 500+ annotated bibliographic entries, wherein he crisply describes and critiques true-crime classics from around the world (excepting only Africa). As is the case with his own true-crime studies ("The Thurtell-Hunt Murder Case," "The Woman Who Murdered Black Satin" et al.), Borowitz's scholarship is impeccable, his style beguiling and his critical judgment unfailing. Compounding these delights are the author's introductory survey of world crime literature (a graduate course itself for the criminously inclined, plus lesser but worthy contributions by no less than Jacques Barzun and Jonathon Goodman.
True crime aficionados take note: this is a book you cannot live without. In almost five hundred pages of crisply perceptive text Borowitz provides a lovingly annotated list of the world's true-crime literature. And, while the bulk of his text is taken up with English language items, the multilingual Borowitz also surveys works from around the world, excepting only Africa.
Erudite, witty and flecked with a dry humor,Borowitz's 654 choice entries will henceforce comprise every crime connoisseur's library or bibliographic lust list. Not the least of the delights herein is Borowitz's 40-page introductory survey of true-crime literature, which is as good a pocket-history of the genre as you will find. It is an additional measure of Borowitz's standing in his field that "Blood and Ink" also boasts prefatory contributions by both Jacques Barzun and Jonathan Goodman. As Sam Spade himself might say, "A toast to Albert Borowitz--and success to crime!"
I have read all of the Redwall series written by Brian Jacques and all of them put together couldn't beat this book if the Redwall series popularity depended on it!!!!
I have read all of the Redwall series written by Brian Jacques and all of them put together couldn't beat this book if the Redwall series popularity depended on it!!!
This may not be the perfect novel, but I urge you not to miss it. The chapter 'On the Pavement' by itself is worth the read!