I love picture books that teach children about extraordinary human beings throughout history. Sometimes, however, they can be rather pedestrian biographies. Not so for this fascinating book on Albert Einstein.

It begins with his birth and unusual behaviour during childhood (he barely spoke and would often just look wonderingly at the world). We then learn about Einstein’s love of numbers, his contributions to our understanding of atoms, and his theories about time and space.

The story and its unusual illustrations paint Einstein as a person who asked many questions, refused to conform, and, by being completely himself, contributed more than any other to our knowledge and understanding of the universe.

Recommended for inquiring minds ages 5 and up.

Angela Crocombe