The Ups and Downs of Gravity

by David A. Adler, Anna Raff (Illustrator)

Overview

Explore the ups and downs of gravity in this introduction to physical science by a trusted nonfiction team.

What happens to a ball when it rolls off a table? It falls to the floor. Why doesn't the ball keep rolling straight ahead or fly up off the table? The answer is gravity.

From density to inertia to free fall, David A. Adler skillfully explains how this invisible, but all too real force operates and what it means for our daily lives. Notable science experiments by Sir Isaac Newton and astronaut David R. Scott are covered. Also included are activities for kids to test at home and in the classroom. Anna Raff's bright and humorous artwork helps breakdown the concepts in a kid-friendly way. Vetted by a physicist, this fact-filled primer includes a glossary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823451289
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	01/18/2022
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.09(d)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

David A. Adler is a former math teacher and author of more than two hundred books for children. He has collaborated on several science picture books with Anna Raff, including Light Waves and Magnets Push, Magnets Pull, both named finalists for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. He is also the author of the Picture Book Biography series and the Cam Jansen mystery series. He lives in New York.

Anna Raff is an acclaimed illustrator of children's books. She illustrated David A. Adler's Simple Machines and Things That Float and Things That Don't, which received starred reviews from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly. She lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

★  "Gravity is clearly and simply explained in this book featuring both animals—mice, dogs—and humans, who are diversely represented. . . . An excellent nonfiction resource for all libraries, this comes highly recommended."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

"Using very simple terms and aided by Raff's whimsical illustrations, Adler introduces young readers to the concepts of gravity, mass, weight, inertia, and resistance. Everyday examples and objects are used to illustrate the principles, such as a ball rolling off a table or marbles falling through water. Each of these examples or activities could easily be replicated by readers at home or in the classroom." —School Library Connection

From the Publisher

★ 01/28/2022

Gr 2–5—Gravity is clearly and simply explained in this book featuring both animals—mice, dogs—and humans, who are diversely represented. Broken down into easy-to-understand sections, the volume discusses gravity, mass, matter, weight, inertia, orbit, and free fall. Each section details how gravity works, with clear examples and visual demonstrations. The book presents multiple opportunities for trying experiments out individually or in a group. Many examples use fun objects, such as chocolate bars and marshmallows, which will appeal to youngsters. This book can be read straight through or broken down into parts. Each page averages three to five sentences, so it isn't overly intimidating to read. The majority of the page is occupied by beautiful illustrations, done in ink washes and finished digitally. VERDICT An excellent nonfiction resource for all libraries, this comes highly recommended.—Tracy Cronce

School Library Journal

2020-09-29
How gravity works on things from apples to planets.

After an incorrect claim that Newton was “the first to describe gravity” (actually a topic of scholarly discussion since ancient times), Adler goes on to explain that mass is not the same as weight and to lay out the effects of distance between two attracting bodies. Expanding into the solar system he presents supposed weights for a 100-pound reader on Jupiter and the sun (omitting the fact that neither body has a surface that said reader could stand on). A confusingly incomplete introduction to orbital mechanics includes the notion of inertia—but never connects the Newtonian dots to explain why planets don’t move in straight lines. “There’s a lot more to gravity,” he vaguely remarks after all this, finishing in the same simplistic vein as he began by defining it as the force “that keeps everything in its place.” In Raff’s sparsely detailed pictures a mouse in a stereotypically schoolmarmish frock conducts two human children, one pale and the other brown-skinned, through various earthly and extraterrestrial scenes, pausing occasionally to let the children demonstrate physical principles or effects with balls, sheets of paper, and like common materials. Along with a richer (and funnier) visual experience, readers who fall into Jason Chin’s Gravity (2014) will ultimately touch down with a clearer understanding of how the phenomenon keeps people and planets in their courses. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 77% of actual size.)

Lands with a dull thud despite being light on factual mass. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews