Odd Boy Out

Brown, D. (2004). Odd boy out: Young Albert Einstein. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Book Summary:

Odd Boy Out focuses on the childhood of Albert Einstein. While we all know him as a genius, Don Brown uses his book to relate Albert to other young people. He fought with his sister, he threw tantrums, he didn’t like to go to school or his parent’s parties.  Although he’s disinterested in many of his school subjects, he loves geometry and is fascinated by music and math. He focuses on his passions and go where they take him. As he grows older, he attends a college in Switzerland and then gets married. When his son is born, Albert spends his time walking his son’s baby carriage around the city of Zurich. It is during these nights under the stars that Albert puts together his views of space, time, and energy that has since changed our world.

Impressions

This was a unique take on Albert Einstein. Because it was focused on his youth, it helps to make the genius more relatable to young readers.  Brown manages to give the reader what feels like an intimate glimpse into Albert Einstein’s psyche. As he describes Einstein’s inner thoughts as a youth, Brown shows the reader that just because you don’t follow what is expected of you, doesn’t mean you can’t do great things. The drawings are simple and primarily focus around Albert. Brown also includes some geometric shapes and stars in the sky. With this, he shows Albert’s internal thoughts through his images.

Professional Review

 “This well-crafted picture-book biography focuses on Einstein's hard-to-classify brilliance, which led to awesome scientific discoveries, but all too often left him a misunderstood outsider. Brown describes his subject's loving, cultured parents who were frequently nonplussed by their son's behavior and temper. He found himself the "odd boy" at school, and as the only Jewish student, was sometimes taunted by other children. He puzzled his instructors as well; though clearly gifted in science, math, and music, he was an indifferent student in most subjects. Brown's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, rendered in a palette of dusky mauve and earthy brown, portray a doubtful, somewhat unhappy-looking child, except for a picture in which he gazes fondly at a compass, a gift that astonishes him as he ponders its mysteries. In many scenes he is marginalized on the sidelines, set apart by color and shading. One dramatic spread features an adult Einstein pushing his child in a carriage, looking small against a backdrop that highlights some of the scientific puzzles that so engaged him. Through eloquent narrative and illustration, Brown offers a thoughtful introduction to an enigmatic man. This book will pique the interest of readers with little or no knowledge of Einstein."

Taniguchi, M. (2004, October 1). School Library Journal.

 Library Uses

This story could be the introduction to a STEM program (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This book helps show that the beginnings of all these fields start with asking yourself questions about the universe. Albert Einstein showed the importance of pondering and thinking and where that could take you. Using this book during a program that focuses on STEM may help children have a more positive approach to science.