I continue to be grateful to Alyson Beecher's Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge at Kidlit Frenzy. There are still books from the past I want to read and share, but it's also time to read new ones coming too.
Here is one new book out on Valentine's Day, and one that's been highly praised, published last fall.
I received an Arc of this story of Isaac Newton's life thanks to Candlewick Press. I liked hearing of his early days, rejection by his family, living from the age of twelve above an apothecary's home and business. The loneliness forced upon him and the solitude he later sought shows the thinker and questioner as he digs deeply into alchemy, but also mathematics and astronomy. It's an interesting story well-backed by writing that has been kept of Newton's and others who worked with him. For those children who are interested in both history and science/math background, this book will please. For others, it might seem dry. Illustrations from Newton's notebooks that accompany each chapter are fascinating to examine. Additional information is given in the backmatter with source notes and a bibliography.