Frank Einstein and the Antimater Motor by Jon Scieszka
Review by Emily Midkiff
Jon Scieszka’s new middle-grade novels series promises to give young readers and unprecedented introduction into brain science, matter and antimatter, magnetism and more. The level of these science concepts goes beyond what most authors would dream of including and a fiction book for this age group. Yet he does it in a way that is not only understandable but–even better–it’s funny!
The careful, simple explanations and guiding illustrations make even the idea of building artificial intelligence easy to access for young readers. One page compares the unusual thinking process of computers with the complex thinking process of organic brains. Too complicated for children? Not for this other! Scieszka tackles it in a few words and Brian Biggs add several straightforward, to color illustrations to further clarify.
This is just the first book in the series, and I hope the rest of Frank Enstein’s Adventures keep up the fun and the science promised by the science fiction novel.
However, the reading doesn’t need to stop with this series. Scieszka plants clues for readers who want to read more about robots and science. There are references two real scientist (the obvious one being Einstein) and classic science fiction (Frankenstein, of course but also as Asimov and more!). These references are embedded in jokes and word play and plot points, but also function as clever directions for further exploration.
Check out all SIX books in the series! Visit http://frankeinsteinbooks.com/.
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Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor by Jon Scieszka
Amulet, 2014
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Emily Midkiff, PhD, is a graduate of the University of Minnesota.
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