Sir Isaac Newton

Knowing that Ryan had to do a report on Isaac Newton for science class I grabbed this book, Isaac Newton: Giants of Science, while at the library. It happened to be in the car when we were on a 75 mile trek (one way!) to a soccer match so I opened it up and started reading it aloud. Katherine Krull had us hooked right from her first sentence, “Grim is a fitting description for Isaac Newton’s childhood.” After I finished the first chapter about his dismal upbringing the kids and my husband exclaimed, “read another chapter!” Krull has a gift for breathing life into this biography by weaving together nuances of a seventeenth century existence with details from Newton’s life. It flows like a hard to put down novel. Some parents will be uncomfortable with chapter nine where the author speculates about whether or not Newton was homosexual, while claiming there is no evidence one way or the other. At any rate, it was certainly interesting getting to know Newton—probably the greatest genius of all time.

Ages 8-12
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Activity: Test your genius when you finish the book with this Isaac Newton Crossword Puzzle.