Member Reviews

This is definitely one of my favorite STEM books of 2021. It's the story of a mouse who wants to attend the big cheese festival, a/k/a Käsefest. But when he arrives, the mouse discovers the festival is over, he's told "that [it] was yesterday, Einstein" and he will just have to turn back time if he wants to be there. And that's just what the mouse sets out to do. Only problem is he goes all the back to 1905 instead of the day of the festival. Now the mouse must figure out how to go forward in time to the day of the festival. And for that he enlists the unwitting help of Albert Einstein by leaving a series of riddles in his workspace that are too enticing to ignore. Eventually, it all results in Einstein's theory of relativity. But does it work? There's just so much to love about this book. There are the stunning pencil and watercolor illustrations, some full page and some two page spreads, some filled with equations and all printed on heavy paper with makes them even lovelier. What I really loved is that the mouse's journeys in time and space really do reflect the theory of relativity. If you know even a little bit about Einstein's theories, you'll recognize what is going on, but even if you don't, it doesn't take anything away from the enjoyment of this brilliant book. There is lots of back matter about Einstein, his life and his theories, and their importance. There is an excellent 22-page Teacher's Guide that can be downloaded HERE, thanks to the publisher NorthSouth

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This was a cute little story book! Would definitely recommend for kids who are learning about Einstein and his inventions.

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This was such a lovely story about a little mouse who wanted to travel back in time. I loved the drawings and they made the story even cuter. Having read my fellow reviewers' comments I read it to my granddaughter who loved it too.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

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Yet another stunning book from Torben Kuhlmann, this time with Albert Einstein in focus. As with the previous books in the Mouse Adventure series, the curious mouse character makes the heavy subject matter accessible even for younger children and provides opportunities for adventure and excitement. The realistic, detailed illustrations are extraordinary.

It would make for excellent bedtime reading or for use in the classroom for stimulating discussions about science, inventing, and time. Highly recommended!

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Learn about Einstein and travel in a time machine built by a mouse to meet the famous scientist.

A little mouse’s hopes of going to the world’s greatest cheese fair is dashed because he is a day late. The little mouse doesn’t give up so he builds a time machine and goes in search of a famous scientist who can help the mouse turn back time.

I loved the creative storyline about the mouse helping Einstein. The illustrations were beautiful, with soothing colors. I learned that there are other books in this series and planning to read them too.

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“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world. ..."
Albert Einstein

What a fun an inspiring little book for ages from 8 to 80. This was my first introduction to Torben Kuhlmann's adorable books about famous people in human history told from the perspective of a little mouse. As a reviewer who mainly writes from the perspective of her cat, I loved this tall tail/tale and of course I believe it's more than possible that the little mouse could build a time-travelling machine to attend the big Cheese Festival. The fact that he missed his mark by 80 years, made it even more relatable. Apparently mice aren't very good with time in general, even when they run up and down clocks.

Just like a few other well-known heroic mice in literature history, he did not give up on his dream to attend the cheese festival and he visits the patent office in Bern. The very same office where Albert Einstein worked in the early 1900's. From here, I don't want to give away too much of this delightful story, but think "Back to the Future" and a science lesson or two with the main aim to spark a small human's imagination.

With beautiful illustrations and a few quirky, but informative quotes, Einstein is a welcome addition to Torben Kuhlmann's series. Now I just need to get my hands on the rest of this series and add it to my bookshelf. Elza promises to leave the little mouse in peace and she says she can't wait for more delightful history and science lessons.

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This is an awesome children's book! The illustrations are amazing, the story is adorable, and the lesson in science is very well thought out/explained. The mouse tries to get the cheese festival he unfortunately missed, and in the process, he learns important facts and theories about time and relativity. It's a book I'd recommend for children of all ages, including middle schoolers. Great job!!

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

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I really enjoyed this cute book! It would be an awesome book to read to your child. I would definitely recommend this book!

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This was such a cute book. The illustrations were lovely. The little mouse was the cutest thing. I think kids will love it. It was told in a way that is easy to understand. Thank you to Netgalley and North South publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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A cute little story about a mouse trying to discover about time so he can travel back in time to go to the cheese festival
Cute story with adorable illustrations and informative. Story was easy to understand and characters were cute.

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It was such a pleasure to read this book and to enjoy the marvelous artwork. The book may be meant for children but many adults should also enjoy it., as the illustrations are gorgeous and the story is so charming. I can see this as a fun and memorable way to introduce children to science.

In this book, a mouse misses a much anticipated annual cheese festival. He lives in a store that repairs and sells clocks, so he decides that he should be able to find a way to turn back time. After many tries, he finally succeeds in building himself a working time machine. He was aided by notes left by Albert Einstein, who had lived in this small town 80 years previously. The mouse also left a helpful note of his own: "Time is relative." Whenever I think of the theory of relativity, I'll think of this mouse.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher NorthSouth Books via Netgalley and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

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Thanks to Netgalley and North South publishing for the ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

This was super cute and a lovely blend of fictional mouse and non-fiction science topics. I think my kids will really enjoy it, so I’ll be making sure to grab it from the library to read aloud to them. There wasn’t an excessive amount of text, there was lots of beautiful artwork, and a happy ending for the cute little mouse. This covered some of the basics of the theory of relativity, with some deeper explanation at the end, but mostly broke down to things kids can understand (such as when you and someone else move at similar speeds, they don’t appear as fast as if you observe them when you’re standing still - this is easy to point out while out driving) I’m definitely going to look into the rest of the series!

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This book is so cute! I loved the educational pages in the back and I was blown away by how cute and lovely the drawings were. A very clever book!

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Formatting issues with my copy meant the book was sideways and in a mixed up order. It was therefore difficult to read and impossible to follow. From what I grasped of the story it was nice and I liked how time travel and Einstein were used. The pictures were also cute.

The explanations of his theories were difficult to follow. I’m an adult with a masters degree and I couldn’t grasp it so I can’t imagine a child would understand it either

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It all starts when a small mouse travels to Switzerland to attend the greatest cheese fair the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, when he arrives he finds to his surprise and dismay that the fair has ended. This gives him the chance to wander about time. What is time? Does it only move forward in a linear fashion? Is it possible to travel back in time?

To find answers to his questions, he visits a clock maker's shop, where he meets a mouse whose family has made pocket watches for generations. The little mouse finds out about a scientist who won the Nobel prize and whose revolutionary ideas changed our understanding of space and time forever. This scientist is none other than Albert Einstein himself.

The little mouse visits the patent office where Einstein used to work and there he starts to understand more about time and finds a way to communicate with Einstein.

What I loved about the book:
The story and idea of the book was so interesting and well executed.
The art was so good and added so much to the story. It somehow brought the book to life.
I loved the author's explanation of the special and General Theory of Relativity that was provided at the end of the book.

I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to anyone interested in physics and Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and NorthSouth Books for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I’m a new coming to Torben Kuhlmann’s books about various historical figures, and a mouse who interacts with them.
Kuhlmann’s delightful story about a mouse who constructs a time machine to go back in time so he can attend a cheese fair amused me and entertained me. There’s gentle humour throughout the story, as well as a pretty good layperson’s description of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity (certainly more understandable than the one a college physics teacher gave us!)
The watercolour illustrations are beautiful, and wonderfully show the many emotions the mouse has from disappointment at missing the cheese fair, to deep thinking when designing the time machine, puzzlement when seeing the changed town streets, excitement at seeing Einstein, and joy at finally making it to the fair.
I shall have to track down other books by this talented author/illustrator.

Thank you to Netgalley and North South Books Inc. for this ARC in exchange for a review.

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Einstein: The Fantastic Journey of a Mouse through Space and Time is an interesting tale about a mouse who accidentally misses the famous cheese festival he badly wanted to attend. Desperate to turn back time and get to the festival, the mouse builds a time machine (with the help of Einsteins' notes) to take him back a few days to the cheese festival. But the machine mis-aims and the mouse lands in the early 20th century, in the same time and place where Einstein lives! The mouse concocts a plan to get Einstein's assistance in returning to the present day. Will it work?
I enjoyed the lighthearted plot of this book as well as the author's note in the back which explained many of the concepts used in the book. Overall, Einstein was a worthwhile and unique read.

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Can we talk about the dedication of this mouse please? I mean I love a good cheese too but I don't know that I love cheese enough to make a time machine to go back in time so I don't miss out on the cheese festival! That is one very dedicated mouse. But all jokes aside I truly loved this book. I love the innovation, the characterization and the imagination wound throughout this book. The art work is stunning, the concepts great if you are a younger reader interested in time relativity theory or even Einstein himself. I love that the book has a section dedicated to learning more about Einstein after the story. Just over all well done. Now I think I need to go and get some cheese. This little mouse has inspired me. Hope I don't have quite as hard of a journey.

Thank you NetGalley and North South Books Inc. for letting me read an advance copy.

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Such a cute Sci-fi story that asks a question that I am sure many young children might have. It's a great adventure story with a mouse as the main character. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is fun and flows nicely. This is a great story to share with children and I would recommend it to others.

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Another Mouse Adventure by one of my favorite illustrators.

I wasn't aware that these books are also available in English until I came across this one on NetGalley. I'm very glad they are, because I know several people that love illustrated children's books and these are certainly among the best. Torben Kuhlmann is a brilliant illustrator, but he's also a great storyteller. This was awesome.

It's about a bright and adventurous mouse that is super excited about the upcoming "biggest cheese fair the world has ever seen". The little guy is literally counting the days. He uses a human pocket watch and a calendar to keep track of time. Finally the big day arrives, and our hero is starting his journey.

When he arrives at the venue of the fair in Bern, though, everything is already packed up and to his horror he learns that he missed the fair by one day. The little mouse is super disappointed, of course, and tries to find a way to turn back time.

Turning back clocks doesn't have the desired effect, though, so he asks a watchmaker how time actually works. The watchmaker explains to him how the measuring of time works but must concede that he can't answer his questions about time itself.

But someone else that once worked at the patent office in Bern knew a thing or two about the topic and so our little hero visits the place.

"The physicist and later winner of the Nobel Prize Albert Einstein worked here from 1902 until 1909."
The name seemed familiar to the little mouse. There were a few more sentences about Einstein's life, but he skimmed through them. When he got to the last sentence however, his eyes began to sparkle. "Einstein's work changed forever our concept of space and ..." He had to look at the last word again just to make sure. Then he whispered it out loud: "... time!"

In the patent office's attic he finds a copy of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity and starts to do his own calculations.

From this point on we enter the realm of science-fiction and in a plot that resembles the one of 'Back to the Future' our little hero ends up in the wrong year and finds that he doesn't have the technology to get back to his own time. Unless he knew someone that would be able and willing to help him.

This was so much fun. And super adorable to boot. If I were a child I would ask, no, pester my mother to read it to me every evening. With 128 pages it isn't exactly a short book either, so one would likely read this over several days and there are new things to discover on subsequent rereads. Even as an adult, I'm not rating this seen through the eyes of a child or whatever. No, I genuinely loved it.

The only quibble I have is that the resolution was a little abrupt. I would like to have seen our two heroes going at the time travel problem for a little longer. But it almost makes up for this by dedicating the last few pages to the life and work of Albert Einstein and by explaining some of his theories. These however will be difficult to understand for children. Hell, they are difficult to understand for me. Even though Kuhlmann does a fine job explaining them, those parts are certainly for a later point in the lives of the young readers. But in some ways, that's actually rather cool. Imagine years later you pick up the book you loved as a child and there's something else to discover. Something that changed the way we see and understand the world around us. I reckon there's going to be a whole new level of admiration. And maybe curiosity?

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world. ..."
Albert Einstein

Bottom line: This was fun, adorable, educational, and brilliantly illustrated.

The (German) book trailer: https://youtu.be/8PdUerMAP8I

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