Newtonian Physics for Babies (Baby University)

It had large letters for beginning readers and after that it didn't seem to really have anything to catch a child's attention. I didn't notice any errors, but so much was focused on a ball of different sizes and whether or not it was moving. "This is a ball." "This ball is not moving." *Picture of a big ball*-"More Mass." *Picture of a small ball*-"Less Mass." Very thin book with tons of waster space and honestly offers the equivalent amount of information that could be found in a dentist office pamphlet. Advice to the author, company, illustrator. Make a joke here and there, use some animals, don't simply quote a textbook. This is the type of book you find at a used book store for about $1.25

We own six of the Baby University books, but almost certainly won't be buying more. (We also own Quantum Physics, General Relativity, Quantum Computing, Quantum Entanglement, and Rocket Science.) I really want to love this series and I get excited by every new title, but after multiple duds, I don’t think I can justify the purchases.

The positives: The board book is very sturdy and a nice large size, great to fill a child's vision when sitting in a lap. It also would be a good book to prop up for a young baby's tummy time because of the high-contrast images.

But everything else is negative.

The series expects the reader to be familiar with abstract iconography similar to public signage. You might have some preliminary obstacles if your little one is unfamiliar with magnifying glasses, the no symbol of a circle with a slash, arrows, Xs, analog clocks, the number zero, graphs . . .

Also, most new abstract vocabulary is basically unexplained either by image or text. Examples in the series: amount, energy, particle, air flow, angle, force, fuel, equals, net force, motion, warp, relatively, acceleration, ripples, data, entangled, bond.

How to describe the illustrations? The images are so simple that they are stark. The images are also very repetitive. By far, the most colorful page is the front cover. There is a portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, but it’s mostly a white wig joined at the chin.

The text has chosen to explain concepts like gravity with pages devoid of picture (because gravity is invisible ) and the first law of motion with identical illustrations of a ball doing nothing on blank pages.

The whole text - flat, unengaging, and without narrative, characters, or detailed images - just fails to carry the day. Neither my child nor I enjoy reading this.

Baby Loves Science is a far superior series, much more fun and easier to follow.

The explanation of the force of gravity is not good. You can not feel the force of gravity. If you did, then you wouldn't feel weightless when you are in free fall. The force we feel is an electric force. When you are standing, for example, we feel the normal force, which is an electric force exerted on us by the floor.