On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein

“By celebrating Einstein’s wonderful curiosity, this book will inspire young kids to find science fascinating.” —Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author

“Something of an ‘It Gets Better Project’ for mathematically precocious children.” —New York Times

“Einstein positively glows, radiating love and intelligence.” —Washington Post

“An ingenious portrait of genius.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Einstein’s lifelong curiosity sings through every page.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“It’s not easy to explain the work of Albert Einstein to a young audience, but this marvelous book pulls it off. It does so by providing an overview of Einstein’s life: the way he thought and how his remarkable ideas changed the way scientists think…The book reroutes the text around events in Einstein’s life, such as his escape from Nazi Germany and his move to the US, and it only touches upon his work on the nuclear bomb. This is a more personal look, but still, it explains how he came to the discovery of atoms and his theories about the speed of light…The book stresses that readers may someday answer the questions that Einstein didn’t get to, and an author’s note extends the text with paragraphs about Einstein’s pacifism, personality, and thought experiments. A book as special as its subject.” —Booklist (starred review)