{"id":2533,"date":"2013-03-17T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2013-03-17T06:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2533"},"modified":"2013-03-17T09:13:55","modified_gmt":"2013-03-17T15:13:55","slug":"7-imp%e2%80%99s-7-kicks-322-featuring-vladimir-radunsky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2533","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #322: Featuring Vladimir Radunsky"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>
\n

“Everywhere Albert went he would think and think. One of Albert’s favorite thinking places was his little sailboat. He loved to let his mind wander
as the wind blew him across the water.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center><\/p>\n

Above is my favorite spread from Jennifer Berne’s<\/a><\/strong> On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, illustrated by Vladimir Radunksy<\/a><\/strong>, which will be released by Chronicle Books in April. (You gotta click on the image itself to enlarge this one so that you can really take it in and appreciate the color and scope.) Note the subtitle and how it clearly tells readers this isn’t your typical picture book biography. It’s “a story” of this remarkable man’s life. <\/p>\n

The book does, in fact, begin with his birth over a hundred years ago (this past week marked his birthday — on the 14th, to be exact), but it’s not the type of picture book that lays out the primary milestones of his life and career (though a timeline at the book’s close would have made me happy, especially since I was curious to know a lot more about him after reading this). Instead, Berne gives us a vivid snapshot of Einstein’s personality as a boy and man, primarily his curious nature, his striking eagerness to learn all about the world around him. You can see some of that in the spreads shared here today, so I won’t go on about that and I’ll let the spreads speak for themselves. <\/p>\n

Berne writes lovingly and reverently about her subject matter and emphasizes Einstein’s quirks (he hated wearing socks) and passions outside of science (music, ice cream cones). She addresses his big questions (how fast light travels, magnetism, gravity, etc. — the very “secrets of the universe,” no less), showing us a person who was always deep in thought and always trying to suss out meaning from mystery. Radunsky uses gouache, pen, and ink to render the textured art, also reverent but which also goes far in showing us the humor of the man. He uses color, for one, to distinguish Einstein from others (most of the time, though none of the spreads featured here today show this), and his relaxed, carefree lines bring a compelling sense of movement to the spreads. <\/p>\n

The book closes with notes about Einstein’s thought experiments, his playfulness and sense of humor, his pacifism, the atomic bomb, his most famous equation, and recommended reading for those who want to read more. <\/p>\n

Here’s a bit more art. Enjoy. <\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

“Albert started asking questions. Questions at home. Questions at school.
So many questions that some of his teachers told him he was a disruption to his class. They said he would never amount to anything unless he learned to behave like all the other students. But Albert didn’t want to be like the other students.<\/strong><\/font><\/font>
He wanted to discover the hidden mysteries in the world.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread, which is sans text here)<\/center><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

“One day, as Albert was zipping through the countryside on his bicycle, he looked up at the beams of sunlight speeding from the sun to the Earth. He wondered, what would it be like to ride one of those beams? And in his mind, right then and there, Albert was no longer on his bicycle, no longer on the country road … he was racing through space on a beam of light.<\/strong><\/font><\/font> It was the biggest, most exciting thought
Albert had ever had. And it filled his mind with questions.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

“Albert began to read and study.<\/strong><\/font><\/font> He read about light and sound. About heat and magnetism. And about gravity, the invisible force that pulls us down toward our planet, and keeps the moon from floating away into outer space.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n

“In the town where he lived, he became known for wandering around, deep in thought. Sometimes eating an ice-cream cone. Always recognizable with his long, wild hair, which by then had become quite white.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center><\/p>\n

ON A BEAM OF LIGHT: A STORY OF ALBERT EINSTEIN. Copyright \u00a9 2013 by Jennifer Berne. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 2013 by Vladimir Radunsky. Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco. Spreads reproduced with permission of the publisher.<\/em> <\/p>\n

* * * * * * *<\/center><\/p>\n

Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome. <\/p>\n

* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
<\/center><\/p>\n

1)<\/strong><\/font> My oldest, whom I love hanging out with, turned 9 years old this week. Here’s<\/a><\/strong> what kicker Moira Swiatkowski<\/a><\/strong> noted about nine. All true.<\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> My youngest mustered up every ounce of courage in her for what she found to be a very scary dentist visit. I stood there, squeezing her hand and watching her cry and brave it all, thinking: Who ever said childhood was easy? <\/p>\n

(How is that a kick? I dunno. Her courage is a kick, I suppose.)<\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> Laura Marling. New song!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

4)<\/strong><\/font> Nicole Atkins. New song!<\/a><\/strong> (Also the video at the bottom of that link? That’s the first song I ever heard her sing, which turned me on to her music. Like a lost Roy Orbison song, that one. And what. a. voice.)<\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> Binge-watching season two of The Killing<\/a><\/strong><\/em> late at night. <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> Shakey Graves<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

7)<\/strong><\/font> Finally going to the doctor and getting antiobiotics for what ails me. <\/p>\n

BONUS #1:<\/strong><\/font> I’ve pre-ordered this CD<\/a><\/strong> and am looking forward to its arrival in my mailbox next week. How about that first track, as well as the “Wayfaring Stranger” cover? Beautiful. <\/p>\n

What are YOUR<\/strong><\/font> kicks this week? (And are you wearing green today? My seven-year-old tells me I’m set<\/em>. Annually, even. Because my eyes are green.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Everywhere Albert went he would think and think. One of Albert’s favorite thinking places was his little sailboat. He loved to let his mind wanderas the wind blew him across the water.”(Click to enlarge) Above is my favorite spread from Jennifer Berne’s On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein, illustrated by Vladimir […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}