Icarus at the Edge of Time

My daughter reported that her two boys, ages 8 and 10 years, enjoyed the book I sent them, Icarus at the Edge of Time, very much. The 10-year-old will soon be visiting the Space Center at Huntsville, AL, as part of his advanced placement class project, so this book on Einstein's Theory of Relativity was especially a propos.

Brian Greene, author of "The Elegant Universe" and "The Fabric of the Cosmos" has teamed up with legendary book designer Chip Kidd to create an exceptionally cool book for older children. (And for young-at-heart adults, as well.)

The book, "Icarus at the Edge of Time," is a futuristic retelling of the myth of Icarus, involving an alien signal sent to Earth, a spaceship that's home to generations after generations of human that travels toward the star that sent the signal, and a boy on that ship named Icarus who wants to head out in a smaller spaceship to explore a black hole, despite the warnings of his family.

What happens when he approaches and then leaves the edge of that black hole is the twist and the crux of that story, and is very, very cool. It's science-based, and exciting.

The book is illustrated entirely with beautiful Hubble telescope images of the Universe, is a large board book, and is short enough that you could read it in its entirety while standing in a store. Still though, you should buy it. It's not quite simple enough for really young kids, but I think kids over six or seven might be old enough to enjoy it; it's a great read, and I recommend it.

On the whole I was disappointed when I examined the book. Gorgeous photos marred by the black spot. Little science content. Corny story with stock father and son characters, stilted dialog. I couldn't come up with anyone I knew, old or young, who I thought would enjoy more than one reading. *Thinks* save the money and get a book with LOTS of Hubble space pictures, not just the 16 or so used here!

Doesn't go beyond a nice idea - way too abstract for children. Can be used as base material to making yourself familiar with the concept of time travel in the vicinity of black holes, but leaves it up to an older reader to grasp the meaning of the story.
Claims the existence of alien life.
Try harder next time.Icarus at the Edge of Time

I wouldn't call this a book for ALL ages, but it certainly has resonance for at least readers of a middle school level and up.

As a story, it is a tight, fine re-imagining of the legend of Icarus, with the waxy wings being replaced by a spacecraft that flies too close to a black hole despite warnings from a father figure. The book itself is made on board book pages that sport nice photos of stars and nebulas and such, if a little redundant (no people, no ships...just space in all its natural glory). Don't let the board book pages fool you: the language is probably a little higher than all-ages comprehension truly suggests.