Who Was Albert Einstein?

Everyone has heard of Albert Einstein-but what exactly did he do? How much do kids really know about Albert Einstein besides the funny hair and genius label? For instance, do they know that he was expelled from school as a kid? Finally, here's the story of Albert Einstein's life, told in a fun, engaging way that clearly explores the world he lived in and changed.

Jess M. Brallier is a children’s book author. His work includes the highly acclaimed “Tuck and Tina” series, the New York Times bestselling “Who Was Albert Einstein,” “The Olphabet,” “The Unknown Soldier,” and “Booker: The Library Bat.”

Brallier’s books for adults include the bestselling “Lawyers & Other Reptiles,” and his “The Really, Really Classy Donald Trump Quiz Book” should have been warning enough.

He served as a Publisher (book and online) and on the executive team at several major book publishers. At Funbrain he first published Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” in an online format. He and Kinney also launched Poptropica to tell stories via a gaming literacy and it became the world’s largest kids site.

A native of Ligonier, Pennsylvania, Jess is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh (B.A.) and Boston University (M.S.). He and his wife reside in West Hollywood, CA. Their children are the greatest. Jess is repped by Kelly Dyksterhouse at The Tobias Literary Agency.

Grade 3-5-This biography describes Einstein's early struggle to harness and focus his extraordinary abilities; his relationships with his family and first wife; and, lending depth to the story, his most significant scientific discoveries. Brallier does an adequate job of presenting the facts and injects touches of humor into his text. He also discusses Einstein's exile from Germany in the early 1930s and his political views and activities, including the irony that the man who strove for a world without war helped to create the atomic bomb. There are several full-page sidebars, including one on "The Magnetic Earth" and another on "Hitler and the Nazis," and two time lines that contrast world events with those of the scientist's life. Black-and-white cartoon illustrations do little to enhance the text.
Carol Fazioli, formerly at The Brearley School, New York City
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