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9th out of 10 books
—
3 voters
Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein
by
Don Brown
When he was born in 1879, Albert was a peculiarly fat baby with an unusually big and misshaped head. When he was older, he hit his sister, frustrated his teachers, and had few friends. But Albert’s strange childhood also included his brilliant capacity for puzzles and problem solving: the mystery of a compass’s swirling needle, the intricacies of Mozart’s music, the secret...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
September 27th 2004
by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
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This wasn’t quite what I’d expected and I got a different take on how Einstein was as a child. I’d always thought he did poorly in all subjects (but apparently he always did well in math and well enough in music) and first began to talk much later than this book indicates. I also had no idea he felt so very alone and was a frustrated, angry, and aggressive child, although I suppose it makes sense given what we now know about his brilliant mind. However, I had a bit of a hard time liking the boy,...more
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Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein is a biographical picture book intended for the older Nursery child(N) and younger Primary(P) age child. Don Brown uses a combination of pen, ink, and watercolors to depict the story of an odd temperamental misfit who becomes one of the greatest scientists of all time. In just 28 colorfully illustrated pages we are able to learn quite a lot about Albert Einstein. Young Einstein was known as a "fat baby" who was often cranky and prone to terrible tantrums. With...more
Dec 09, 2011
Amy Keltner
added it
1. Biography/Autobiography
2. A picture book describing the life of Albert Einstein. Describing his life including his family and the various places that he lived.
3. a: The greatest strength from the book is how the pictures explain the incidents that are occurring in young Albert's life. It is written in a style to which is easy to understand and yet extremely informative.
b: The use of the language of the story is one that allows one to have empathy with Albert. "The Einstein's move to the la...more
2. A picture book describing the life of Albert Einstein. Describing his life including his family and the various places that he lived.
3. a: The greatest strength from the book is how the pictures explain the incidents that are occurring in young Albert's life. It is written in a style to which is easy to understand and yet extremely informative.
b: The use of the language of the story is one that allows one to have empathy with Albert. "The Einstein's move to the la...more
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What ARE you going to say about Einstein that'll fit in a picture book for the 4 - 8 crowd?
Quite a lot, apparently. Like many children, young Albert (and this book does focus mainly on his youth) never fit in. The other children liked sports, and watching soldiers on parades; he didn't. Other children talked and cooed at two; he didn't. Other children answered questions quickly in class, and bothered with the classes they didn't like, and socialized at parties... not so Albert.
The author covers...more
Quite a lot, apparently. Like many children, young Albert (and this book does focus mainly on his youth) never fit in. The other children liked sports, and watching soldiers on parades; he didn't. Other children talked and cooed at two; he didn't. Other children answered questions quickly in class, and bothered with the classes they didn't like, and socialized at parties... not so Albert.
The author covers...more
1 like · like · see review
Apr 29, 2009
Sean
added it
Genre: Picture Book
Age Level: Fluent/transitional. Is factual, and uses larger, technical terms at times, but a transitional reader could get through while learning some new vocabulary words.
World View: White, Eurocentric
Theme: love of who you are, and what you do. Einstein believed that "...the love [of a subject:] is better than a sense of duty - at least for me."
Literary Elements: foreshadowing. the book contains alot of foreshadowing, to Einstein's
In the Classroom: This would be a good boo...more
Age Level: Fluent/transitional. Is factual, and uses larger, technical terms at times, but a transitional reader could get through while learning some new vocabulary words.
World View: White, Eurocentric
Theme: love of who you are, and what you do. Einstein believed that "...the love [of a subject:] is better than a sense of duty - at least for me."
Literary Elements: foreshadowing. the book contains alot of foreshadowing, to Einstein's
In the Classroom: This would be a good boo...more
This book enlightens us about Albert Einsteins life as a child and growing up into adulthood. The reader learns the "human" side of Einstein.
Overall anyone who is interested in learning about Albert Einstein will find this book appealing. It does a terrific job of summarizing his life. The Hornbook Guide rated it a 1 and I agree with that evaluation. All of the information is presented in a clear way.
Specifically, it is a good introduction to Einstein, scientists in general, and physics. It...more
Overall anyone who is interested in learning about Albert Einstein will find this book appealing. It does a terrific job of summarizing his life. The Hornbook Guide rated it a 1 and I agree with that evaluation. All of the information is presented in a clear way.
Specifically, it is a good introduction to Einstein, scientists in general, and physics. It...more
1 like · like · see review
Albert Einstein was born with a slightly larger head, but his mother wasn't too worried. Albert grew up to be a little odd, he didn't speak his first words until he was almost 4, and when he speaks it is clearly and cleverly. His parents tell him he is going to be a big brother and he is disappointed, he would rather get a toy. Albert was sometimes mean to his little sister Maja, and he threw such bad tantrum he scared away his tutor. Despite being different than most little boys, Albert succeed...more
I am not sure what went wrong with this book. It really started out promisingly--the first couple of pages engaged my niece and nephew (and me), and I thought, "oh, this is going to be a biography of Einstein that will be accessible to the kids!" I was excited! And then.... I wasn't.
It was interesting to learn that he was a problem child, to be sure, and I think those bits will stick with my niece and nephew, but I really don't think that anything past Einstein's early childhood years is going t...more
It was interesting to learn that he was a problem child, to be sure, and I think those bits will stick with my niece and nephew, but I really don't think that anything past Einstein's early childhood years is going t...more
Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein is a biographical picture book that was written by Don Brown. This book talks about the early life of a 20th century physicist who we all know as Albert Einstein. The author briefly described Albert's childhood. He discusses Einstein's love for math and music and talks about his journey of becoming a famous physicist. I personally thought the book told a great story that even children would enjoy. It can be used to educate students on the revolution of physics....more
I really had mixed feelings about this book. On the positive side, I think it is always great when nerds, like me, get the spotlight and I hope that reading this book may help the nerds out there be accepted better or at least feel better about themselves. On the negative side, this book does not make Einstein's scientific breakthroughs any more accessible to children. I wish Don Brown had done a better job explaining what Einstein did and why he is important so that the interesting stories abou...more
I never knew much about Einstein's childhood except that he had trouble in school. It's very interesting to find out that he had a younger sister that he treated similiarly to the way I treated my younger sister. Of course, I'm not nearly as brilliant as Einstein, but if I had read this as a kid, I'm sure it would have been inspiring. Not only did Einstein hate school, he had trouble at home the same way I did and still managed to make an impact on the world. I wish the book had focused a bit mo...more
.”Odd boy out: Young Albert Einstein” by Don Brown. This is a biography about the early years of Einstein’s life. This book talks about the issues that Albert had as young boy. By today’s standards he would have been given psychotic medications to help with some of his problems. This book would be good to demonstrate to young students who may be having behavioral challenges, that things can change for them over time. Also, students can be told about how successful Einstein become, but he just wa...more
An awesome biography that explains the childhood and life of Albert Einstein in a humorous and understandable way for young children. This book shows how Albert was very different from other children his own age growing up, and that despite his oftentimes "odd" qualities, he turned into one of the most important scientific figures off all time! This book is a great way to show students how being unique and different is okay, and also would serve as the perfect introduction to studying Einstein.
This sounds like a great book that informs readers about the life of Albert Einstein and what he faced through is boyhood years. This would be a great book to use within the classroom as an introduction to talking about Albert Einstein, and that even though we may go through struggles in life, we can still overcome and do great things. Our present challenges don't have to determine negative outcomes.
This book introduced my girls to Albert Einstein, taking him from his birth to the years of his greatest accomplishments in theoretical physics, highlighting his early characteristics, personality and interests. My older two girls liked the book, even though they didn't understand the science it contained.
They were especially intrigued when the book mentions Einstein's early fascination with the compass, since they recently acquired compasses and we have been working on the concept of magnetic...more
They were especially intrigued when the book mentions Einstein's early fascination with the compass, since they recently acquired compasses and we have been working on the concept of magnetic...more
This story is about young Einstein, who didn't fit in with any of his peers or family. He was always fascinated with puzzles though, and ultimately little Einstein became one of the most influential figures in American history. This is a good book about doing what interests you and not trying to conform to everyone else.
This beautiful illustrated story allows the reader to see into the childhood of Albert Einstien. The reader is allowed to empathize with the shy and introverted child.
This is a story that is a biography, without being a traditional biography. I student could read this book to learn more about Einstien, or a child could read this book just for fun.
This is a story that is a biography, without being a traditional biography. I student could read this book to learn more about Einstien, or a child could read this book just for fun.
I'm just wondering, that if Einstein would have been brought up in today's teaching world, he would have been labeled something, spent half his time is ISS and probably have dropped out by 13. Interesting book for young readers.
Good book to introduce Einstein's life, but very little about his actual discoveries and seems to jump quickly in places. Enjoyed the story of his young life, though, and found the illustrations quirky and fun.
Actually, 3 1/2 stars - really nice story, and shows the personality of Einstein. I didn't like the illustrations as much, but liked the story. The end material was nice in showing more of Einstein's life.
WHY: "Offers hope for every child who marches to a different drummer, who doesn't blossom on time, who isn't good at sports, who believes in daydreaming about things that no one else can even imagine."
This story will appeal to children who are interested in science or learning more about Einstein. Children who don’t seem to “fit” in with their peers will also enjoy this story.
Such an interesting, telling tale. The perception of Albert Einstein as a child certainly does not measure up the man he would grow to be.
The story of Albert Einstein's early years. Some aspects were very unexpected ...great for motivating/inspiring students with exceptionalities!
Odd boy indeed - did anyone else wonder if Einstein's childhood peculiarities would suggest autism today?
Facinating view of Albert Einstein
Childhood
School difficulities
Science
Scientists
Temper-anger
Childhood
School difficulities
Science
Scientists
Temper-anger
This was a very educational book, learned some odd facts about Albert Einstein as a young child.
The story of Albert Einstein and how he didn't fit in but became a genius. Biography
Biography - Enjoyed. Would have liked more about his life in homeland
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him "a current pac...more
More about Don Brown...
Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him "a current pac...more
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