Light Waves

by David A. Adler

Fascinating physics facts a young scientist needs to know, from one of the most trusted teams in STEM for children!

This kid-friendly introduction to the physics of light covers the basics of solar energy, the electromagnetic spectrum, photon particles, light scattering, and reflection and refraction. Readers will follow along as two children and a cow in a lab coat learn how light works in realistic and imaginative scenarios.

With accessible language, grounded examples, and easy, hands-on experiments you can do with household items, David A. Adler explains the basics of how light travels and bends.  Anna Raff's bright, humorous illustrations make an intimidating topic easy-- and fun!-- to understand. This colorful picture book is a perfect supplement to lessons on light waves, and a great way to explore the topic at home.
 
Named a finalist for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Children's category, Light Waves is a must-have book for all self-professed science nerds!

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Education, Stem

32 pages, Hardcover

Published July 17, 2018

About the author

David Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.

Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.

Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.

As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author David Adler rarely misses when it comes to distilling complicated topics for a young audience. In this picture book, he tackles physics and discusses light waves. The book contains several simple experiments utilizing material that is easily accessible and that youngsters or their science teachers can perform to test out what they encounter in the book. The text is easy to digest and engaging to read, and gives readers the feeling that they are listening to an old friend share what he knows about the topic in a way that they can understand. The digital illustrations enhance the text with their soft colors and young characters and animals. As is the case with all the other books by this creative team, this one would be a find addition for a science classroom. Even older learners might find it useful.

[Lindley Davis]

This book by David A. Adler is a great informational book for young children learning and reading about science and in this case the topic of light. This book explains the use, importance and characteristics of light. It gives fun facts and simple real world examples of light and how it works around us. This colorful book is perfect for an elementary classroom and includes easy experiments that can be done at home or school. Very simple pictures were used that illustrate the topic discussed on that particular page. At the end of the book the author includes an index of vocabulary used throughout the book. I can see myself using this book for a science lesson or a lesson about following instructions and have the students practice the easy experiments given in the book.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adler is back with another great science book, this time focusing on the topic of light. In a 32-page picture book format, he introduces light, stresses its importance, and presents it as energy. Light waves, refraction, shadows, and reflections are examined. Colors, the visible spectrum, infrared and ultraviolet light are also explained. This is a clear and interesting introduction to an important topic. The bright digital illustrations clearly show key concepts in a kid-friendly manner. This would be a good addition to elementary science collections.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer- I'm a David Adler fan! Loads of my earl-reading-learners have found favorites among his titles. This science title (Magnets PUSH Magnets PULL) provides plenty of hands-on fun along with accurate and accessible text about the physical science of magnetism. This is a fun individual read, but a MUST HAVE for classroom use.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solidly informative, and mostly comprehensible to its audience. There were, though, a few times I had to re-read something to grasp the concept.
(Also, totally kicking myself for not getting "infrared" and "ultraviolet" before now...)

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am hoping to add this to my classroom science library. The illustrations are wonderful and the fairly complex concepts are explained fairly easily. Granted, science isn't my area of expertise, but I did learn some things with this book!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

VERY wordy and complicated for a picture book. The ideas are there, and at times easy enough to understand. But I found myself (as an adult!) re-reading sections.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an enjoyable book for children, predominantly about the visible light spectrum. It includes some quick fun activities and explanations of how light works.

[Kiyoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

we read this book as a homework assignment, an illustrated e-book during the Covid-19 quarantine.

[Dewi · Rating 4 out of 5]

love this science series! simple explanation for small kid.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A good introduction to light waves including some practical experiments that can be done with household items

[Emma Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This informational text has great pictures and explanations of complicated scientific information. The book also has built-in science activities.

[Jamie Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great book about science. It talks about sunshine and how it creates energy. Animals get that energy from the plants, and we get energy from the animals. This book gives readers tasks that prove what it is saying. One task was to tape together 2 toilet paper rolls and put them over a flashlight and try to bend them. Well when you bend them you can no longer see the light which proves that light shines in straight lines. It talks about refraction, shadows, transparency, translucency, and more. This book would be great for super curious kids who are interested in science. I gave this book 4 stars because it was kind of hard to follow. I often times didn't know which part of the pages I was supposed to be looking at.

[Lenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 The illustrations look like lower elementary but the text is probably on a 6th grade comprehension level.