Newton and Me

May 1, 2010
K-Gr 2-Mayer investigates force and motion in everyday activities. In a rhyming narration, a boy records his observations on gravity and inertia as he plays ball, helps his parents to landscape, and rides a bike uphill. Obviously named for the noted scientist, hound Newton looks on. The child wears a T-shirt with an apple and a formula for one of Newton's Laws. The book concludes with a series of follow-up questions and a simple restatement of Newton's first two laws of motion. This plotless book may fill a slot for an introduction to physics. Rogers's cartoons are cheerfully suburban; even the pets seem to smile."Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2010
Preschool-G Newtons laws of gravity and motion are at the center of this rhyming picture book that brings physics to a young audience in a lively story about a boy playing with his dog. The bright, unframed double-page spreads show the boy throwing a ball (No matter how hard I throw the ball up / It would always come down to me and my pup), pushing a truck (on a flat surface and then speeding downhill), pulling a wagon (first empty, then piled with rocks), and pedaling a bike (uphill into the wind, then downhill against the wind). The clear back matter offers more about Newton and includes study questions for kids to discuss with adults about how Newtons discoveries relate to everyday life. The storys lessons, drawn from simple, obvious facts (Something wont move unless a force makes it move), give science the excitement of magic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)