Overview
A sickly child, a poor student, and a medical school dropout, Léon Foucault seemed an unlikely candidate for greatness. But his ingenious experiment—simple, beautiful, and stunningly original—changed how we see the world.
Scientists knew that the earth turned on its axis. But how could they prove it? Countless experiments had been tried . . . and had failed. Then, one historic day in Paris, Léon Foucault gave a magnificent demonstration that offered the proof everyone had been looking for.
Discover the improbable story of the man behind the famous Foucault’s Pendulum.
Synopsis
A sickly child, a poor student, and a medical school dropout, Léon Foucault seemed an unlikely candidate for greatness. But his ingenious experiment—simple, beautiful, and stunningly original—changed how we see the world.
Scientists knew that the earth turned on its axis. But how could they prove it? Countless experiments had been tried . . . and had failed. Then, one historic day in Paris, Léon Foucault gave a magnificent demonstration that offered the proof everyone had been looking for.
Discover the improbable story of the man behind the famous Foucault’s Pendulum.
From the Hardcover edition.
Publishers Weekly
Foucault was small and slow moving as a child, but he had a clever mind. Drawn to science as an adult, he made an incredible discovery, one that would allow him to prove the unprovable--that the Earth does indeed spin on an axis. Mortensen's prose infuses this small scientific drama with remarkable tension, while Allén's dramatically lit paintings, often organized into elegant panels, have a cinematic quality and amplify the action even further. It should enchant not only science lovers but any child who has felt awkward and dreamed big. Ages 7-9. (Sept.)
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Foucault was small and slow moving as a child, but he had a clever mind. Drawn to science as an adult, he made an incredible discovery, one that would allow him to prove the unprovable--that the Earth does indeed spin on an axis. Mortensen's prose infuses this small scientific drama with remarkable tension, while Allén's dramatically lit paintings, often organized into elegant panels, have a cinematic quality and amplify the action even further. It should enchant not only science lovers but any child who has felt awkward and dreamed big. Ages 7-9. (Sept.)Children's Literature -
In the nineteenth century, scientists agreed that the earth turns on its axis. But over years they are unable to prove it. This is the true story of Leon Foucault, a sickly youngster and poor student, but an accomplished scientist who found that proof. His delicate experiments with a pendulum must be made at night, when there are no outside vibrations. In 1851, he invites the scientific community to Meridian Hall in Paris, where there is a precise North-South line, to see what he has discovered. After he sets a pendulum free, it swings away from the line, proving the rotation of the earth. Allen's pencil and watercolor illustrations, enhanced with photo editing software, recreate the nineteenth century Parisian milieu while portraying the events in the text. Dramatic colors in the brown family are almost somber in their naturalistic depiction of the experiments, as well as in the final demonstration. Included with pronunciation guides are Notes, a glossary, and a bibliography. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia MarantzSchool Library Journal
Gr 2–4—A 19th-century figure formerly relegated to entries in collective biographies at last gets his due in a solo picture-book biography. The pendulum that bears his name, designed as proof that Earth spins on its axis, is still regarded as one of the most elegant scientific demonstrations ever. Despite this and other technical achievements, however, Foucault spent most of his short life outside the French scientific establishment. Why? A lack of advanced academic credentials for one thing, suggests Mortensen in her matter-of-fact narrative and more detailed afterword—but also, without making a direct claim, she points to evidence that he may have suffered from a spectrum disorder. Allén's digitally finished paintings mix sequential panels and larger tableaus to depict a frail, thoughtful-looking young man working alone in a tidy, shadowy workshop or showing his latest invention to small groups of marveling onlookers. Readers will marvel too, at the genius of this little-known scientific wizard.—John Peters, New York Public LibraryKirkus Reviews
Slow in school but gifted as a craftsman, in 1851 Foucault was the first to find a way to demonstrate the earth's spin on its axis, using a pendulum. Mortensen invites young readers into this French scientist's life with a quick description of his childhood difficulties, but the focus of this enjoyable story is the "beautiful experiment" for which he's noted. The author describes earlier efforts to show the earth's spin and goes into detail about the accident that gave Léonhis insight, ending her account with his demonstration before a distinguished crowd. Allén's digitally finished pencil-and-watercolor paintings in browns and deep reds vary in size and placement on the page. They add to the sense of time and place but are less successful in illustrating the actual experiment. A series of small paintings shows the rod wiggling in the lathe, but in a similar series the pendulum's movement away from the longitude line is less clear. Readers will come away with a better sense of the history than the science. (author's note, illustrated glossary, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-9)