Picture Books on a Sunday - Meet Einstein

Amanda at A Patchwork of Books has this great Picture Book Saturday feature, where she talks about different picture books that are connected by a certain theme. As a librarian that works with kids of all ages, picture books come across both the reference desk and my own desk everyday. I thought it would be fun to talk about some of those picture books from time to time - it might be once per month, it might be more.

Today's book is...


Meet Einstein
Author: Mariela Kleiner
Illustrator: Viviana Garofoli
Publisher: Meet Books, LLC
Publication Date: March 1, 2011

Meet Einsein, he is a scientist who loves to study light and gravity. Einstein helps to introduce your kids yo science, and show the, that they are already great scientists.

Light and gravity are concepts that preschoolers are ready to learn. Meet Einstein helps them make connections in everything they see and do, and teaches them that science is all around them. (Summary from the jacket copy)

Meet Einstein is a great book for introducing young children (ages 3 to 5) to science. It has clear writing that uses examples that kids will recognize from everyday life.

Ms. Kleiner starts off by introducing Einstein and explaining what a scientist is and then goes on to talk about light and gravity. She uses examples like food spilling from the table and a child jumping up and down to illustrate her points. The writing reads like a conversation and I can see this book being the starting off point for teaching children both who Einstein is and about some of his discoveries.

Ms. Garofoli's illustrations are a perfect match for the text. They are beautifully drawn and really catch the eye.  I love that the endpapers at both the front and back of the book have illustrations of supplies a scientist might need to conduct experiments.

Meet Einstein is terrific resource for parents. While I can't see using it as a read aloud for a group, this book is perfect for one on one reading.