Baby Loves Quarks!

by Ruth Spiro, Irene Chan (Illustrator)

Overview

Big, brainy science for the littlest listeners

Accurate enough to satisfy an expert, yet simple enough for baby, this book explores the basics of particle physics and chemistry – quarks, protons, neutrons, atoms and molecules – and ties it all to baby’s world. Beautiful, visually stimulating illustrations complement age-appropriate language to encourage baby’s sense of wonder. Parents and caregivers may learn a thing or two, as well!

With tongue firmly in cheek, the Baby Loves Science series introduces highly intellectual science concepts to the littlest learners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580895408
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	10/04/2016
Series:	Baby Loves Science Series
Pages:	20
Sales rank:	82,013
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.54(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Ruth Spiro is the author of the Baby Loves Science series, published by Charlesbridge. These adorably illustrated board books contain expert-reviewed science, yet are simple enough for the very youngest readers. Another new picture book series, Made by Maxine, will be published by Penguin/Dial beginning in 2018. Her debut picture book, Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist (Dutton), won awards from Writer's Digest and Willamette Writers and was a Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year. Ruth is a frequent speaker at schools and conferences, and recent presentations include the Early Childhood STEM Conference at CalTech and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Visit Ruth on her website here.

Irene Chan is the illustrator of Baby Loves Quarks! and Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering! She is also an art director, designer, artist, and amateur photographer. She currently lives in Atlanta, GA. Visit Irene at www.eneri.net.

Read an Excerpt

Baby likes to build a tower with blocks.

Nature likes to build things, too!

Baby builds with blocks.

Nature builds with quarks.

Quarks like to stick together.

Editorial Reviews

Baby Loves Quarks! explores the basics of particle physics and chemistry – quarks, protons, neutrons, atoms and molecules – and ties it all to baby’s world. Accurate enough to satisfy an expert, yet simple enough for baby.
—Inky Girl

Offers a simplified explanation of quarks, protons, neutrons, atoms, and molecules. Also check out Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering!
—5 Minute Librarian

...The full-color cartoonish illustrations help to make the concepts more concrete, such as showing how a bird's curved wing helps it fly. These work best as a gift to a new parent who works in the science field.
—BayViews

From the Publisher

2016-10-12
This board book attempts to introduce babies to nuclear physics; its companion volume does the same with aerodynamics.A white baby in overalls is depicted building a tower with blocks. Moving right along, Spiro explains that nature also likes to build, and while baby builds with blocks, nature builds with quarks. So far so good, but now comes the confounding part. A quark is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter, but explaining it to a baby is no elementary matter. How does one explain something that's not directly observed to young children developmentally not ready for abstraction? Conceivably, babies could learn to parrot the explanation of a quark, making their parents very proud and eager to show off their young prodigies, yet they would have absolutely no understanding of what they are saying. The companion volume to this book, Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering! is no less absurd in its subject matter. Though not as abstract, an understanding of aerodynamics does require a greater experience of the world than babies bring to the table. There will be time enough for children to learn, experience, and understand these concepts when they are a little older; meanwhile, what happened to head, shoulders, knees, and toes? Really? (Board book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews