General Relativity for Babies: An Introduction to Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Physics for Babies from the #1 Science Author for Kids (STEM and Science Gifts for Kids)

Baby University

by Chris Ferrie

Simple explanations of complex ideas for your future genius!

Written by an expert, General Relativity for Babies is a colorfully simple introduction to Einstein's most famous theory. Babies (and grownups!) will learn all about black holes, gravitational waves, and more. With a tongue-in-cheek approach that adults will love, this installment of the Baby University board book series is the perfect way to introduce basic concepts to even the youngest scientists. After all, it's never too early to become a quantum physicist!

Baby University: It only takes a small spark to ignite a child's mind.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Stem, Physics, Kids

24 pages, Board Book

Published May 2, 2017

About the author

I am Chris Ferrie, father of four and happy husband. My day job is academic research where I follow my curiosity through the word of quantum physics. My passion for communicating science has led from the most esoteric topics of mathematical physics to more recently writing children’s books.

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite the stuff of bedtime reading for your infant -

but very much a good quality primer for science-phobic or science-uninformed readers at virtually any level of the basic tenets that underlie Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (which is generally anything BUT easy reading).

Paul Weiss

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stuff that pops up in my Facebook feed sometimes. Baffling. Anyway, this is one of those things. I read it twice, and I’m not sure if I really understand it, but then again I’m not part of target audience of this book. Perhaps that explains it. I don’t know. It’s fun though.

[Hossein · Rating 4 out of 5]

یاسر رودی اینو تو پیج اینستاگرامش معرفی کرده بود و ایده سری‌ش خیلی جذابه.
حس میکنم برا بچه‌ها بودنش یه کم شوخیه! ولی فکر کردن به اینکه به جای داستان تصویری برای بچه‌ها از خمشِ فضا-زمان و تکینگی حرف بزنیم، تو ذهنم فرایند بامزه‌ای بنظر اومد :))

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting concept in making a book that describes a relatively what may seem like a complex idea to the youngest minds we have. Although the concept is interesting in that regard I still have a feeling that babies and children of young age still may not grasp the concept or have any type of idea of what the adult is reading to them.

The presentation of the concept of relativity was given in an easy-to-understand way that was illustrated. Although mostly the words used were simple and easy to pronounce they still had a bit of a way to go in presenting the concept to forming minds.

At the same time the illustrations were simple and bright in some regards to keep the eye. Again I am not quite sure how much would be remembered but there could possibly be some interactive moments such as colors and shapes to teach the youngest audiences.

All in all a great concept and attempt. For those who would like a good gag gift for those entering into slightly harder science classes this could be a perfect gift or just even for those who may have a passion for science in general.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I generally tend to agree with those reviewers who point out that although Chris Ferrie's Baby University series is ostensibly aimed at toddlers (and according to Ferrie's book titles even at babies, but well, I certainly do not think any of the Baby University board books would really work with and for actual infants), many if not even a sizeable majority of these tomes are actually (even with their board book format and extremely simple illustrations) far more serviceable as stealth STEM instruction for older children (including teenagers) and even for parents who might be a bit hazy on the basics of physics, mathematics and the like than true and bona fide board book audiences (young children from about the age of two to five). However, unlike with for example Chris Ferrie's Quantum Entanglement for Babies (which is simply all-round confusing) and Organic Chemistry for Babies (which starts simple but then almost out of the proverbial blue morphs into something ridiculously convoluted), I really do think that for General Relativity for Babies (published in 2016) Ferrie definitely keeps both his texts and equally his accompanying illustrations nicely and sufficiently simple and unadorned for a general board book audience and thankfully does not suddenly move from basic to overly complex either to explain using basic grids and colour-coded dots to show how mass drags space, how space drags mass and demsonqrating clearly and simply how black holes are formed, how they stretch and squish space throughout the universe (not enough of course for young children to know everything regarding general relativity by the end of General Relativity for Babies, so that the statement at the end the book of young children now knowing general relativity is a trifle false and overly optimistic, but yes, General Relativity for Babies does in my opinion feature a very decent and toddler friendly introduction to general relativity, with Chris Ferrie presenting a delightfully basic but informative combination of text and images and as such also providing a good starting off point for further details on general relativity and physics in general for when young children are older and both want and need a bit more).

And therefore, for me and to me General Relativity for Babies is age appropriately basic and unconfusingly penned, is not ever either textually or illustratively overwhelming or demanding too much of toddlers, of the intended age group, while at the same time also providing solid scientific knowledge, all served up by Chris Ferrie in a very solidly four star and warmly recommended manner.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe if this and the other books in this series were my bedtime reading as a youngster, I would be able to understand this one now! My sleepy 7am brain didn't get it, but I do now, I think. 3 stars. I think these books are important to at least intro kids to big ideas in a simple way. Maybe some science students in school too... Three stars because it wasn't accessible to me when I was up earlier than I would have liked on a Saturday, not because it's a bad book. Fantastic concept! Well worth it I think. :)

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

جدای از ایده خفنش و ساده گوییش، برا بچه ها صفحاتش جذاب هم هست حتا.

[Remo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simplificación máxima de la Relatividad General, creo que hasta más allá del punto de utilidad. Tres conceptos poco cocinados, muchas dudas, cero chicha. Pero buenas intenciones, supongo. Lo de "for babies" es también opinable como mínimo.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational yet somehow hilarious. Brilliant.

[Elora Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

[Salwa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why does all the books have to start with a ball? Ok. fine, but this was too theoretical for babies. Mass and singularity may be a build up to understanding general relativity, but I was hoping this book would be a summary of the concept and something babies can relate to observable phenomenon. They are not trying to pass exams here, that they need a diluted version of chapter 1 of relativity.

[Lata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting as this book was, this lesson finished just as it started to get really interesting (e.g., black holes and gravitational waves). I wanted to spend more time learning about how space and mass interacted with one another. (Yeah I know, I’m not the intended, much younger, audience for this book.)

[Neveen]

I think babies are smarter than me

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 5 week old baby enjoyed this book. She was very sleepy when we started reading it but she stayed awake to finish it and is happy that she knows General Relativity now. Similar to the other physics books, I think she enjoys the illustration style.

[Savannah Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still don’t fully understand general relativity so I still have questions but a nice simplistic explanation. I just don’t know how we get from flat surface at one angle to ball on top of the plain.

[Bruce Gargoyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this title for review from the publisher via Netgalley.

Ten Second Synopsis:
A basic, illustrated foray into the wilds of complex physics for little ones.

I requested this one from Netgalley for review on the logic that I, as an intelligent, adult gargoyle, should be able to understand a concept - even one as advanced as general relativity - when it is explained at a baby's cognitive level.

So, was my reasoning spurious?

Long story short: yes.

Yes it was.

I was unable to grasp complex scientific principles delivered at the cognitive level of a baby. The first few pages were okay. I was pretty confident with my grasp of things having more or less mass, and the ability of mass to warp space.

But when we got on to particles not being able to go where they please, I was lost. It was all over. Nevertheless, I persisted to the end of the book, picked up some basic information about black holes and subsequently consigned all that talk about particles taking the shortcut through warped mass to the black hole of my memory.

As far as baby-appeal goes however, this book is on the right track. The illustrations are bright and consist of large shapes in contrasting colours. The text is short. The images are stark and perfect for babies at an early stage of development who like big shapes and simple images against solid background colours. Science fans will get a kick out of reading this to their mini-lab-assistants-in-training.

Overall, this is a super fun idea for a series of board books and are a great way for parents to engage their mini-fleshlings in topics that set their scientific hearts aflutter.

[MKF · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple look at the basics of general relativity for babies and very young children. They would probably wouldn't understand but may enjoy the illustrations.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What did I just read? Mass, space, black holes, gravitational waves... I'm not really sure, but it is a cute way to introduce anyone, not just babies, to the key concepts of relativity.

[Sudha Hariharan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do babies have to understand general relativity? Would you like your child to understand and be like Einstein? I will be honest, I bought this book as a joke for my kids. I don't expect them to understand the theory but I was hoping they appreciate that most complex ideas can be expressed in simple terms.

This book describes General relativity in an uncomplicated language. Children may not learn what General relativity is, but they will get interested in the ideas. The illustrations are bright and the words used are simple with bright colors and shapes.

The book is cute and there was much interesting talk about black holes, mass, and gravitational waves. As an adult, I would have liked more information but for a child, this is already a lot. My 3-month-old finds it difficult to nibble at the book and therefore is annoyed by it and my 5-year old says that she finds the book interesting enough and that she would consider being a scientist! So, I guess its a win!

I think that this book is a good choice to get your child interested in Mathematics and Science. It won't help them understand General relativity, but they will be familiar with the vocabulary.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 23 month-old granddaughter loves this series and asks her mom to read them almost every day. I'm watching her understanding grow. First, her focus was on color and shape, then in and out and up and down, now understanding of the simple symbols and of what is possible and what is not. Difficult concepts brilliantly presented! Even I am beginning to get it!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still don't get it.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do really like this series and I'll be honest...I learned a lot from this book and so did my 4 year old. Maybe not for the audience named on the cover but I am glad these books exist.

[Andras Szalai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just for babies ;)

[Maťa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super nápad, ale stále som tomu dostatočne neporozumela. Musela som prečítať 2x a potom si to nechať dovysvetliť 😂😂

[Amin Bachari · Rating 5 out of 5]

واقعا بچه های الان خوشبختن که همچین کتاب هایی دارن :D

[Vi's Reviews in One Line · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again a few leaps that were hard to follow (I still don’t actually know what relativity means)

[Sutton Eleanora · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are all learning a lot

[Aspen Nowak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Derrick: "Ehh, it's fine"

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute primer to mass and space.

[Aneesa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Babies will not understand this.