Newton's Laws: A Fairy Tale [Paperback]

A 123-page illustrated fairy tale that teaches Newton's three laws of motion through the adventures of Kip, a curious boy with nothing but an apple to his name, and Newton, an eccentric wizard who keeps figuring out how the universe works by accident. Along with rival wizard Leibniz, the contested heir Prince Eric, and a guard captain very devoted to him, they discover the laws of motion together — and (mostly) save the kingdom.

Written by Sarah Allen, illustrated in full color by Sheila Stephanie Elizan. For ages 9–12.

Shipping: This is a print-on-demand paperback. Please allow 2–3 weeks for printing and delivery. If you need it sooner, the paperback is also available on Amazon with faster shipping.

Note: This is the current edition of Newton's Laws. It differs from the first-edition version included in the Fairy Tale Physics Books 1–4 omnibus. (Same story, but more illustrations, and the practice problems are integrated into stories now, too.)

What's inside the book

Read a Sample

Four chapters of fairy tale (roughly the first 75 pages), where Kip and Newton discover the three laws of motion in the wild — by tumbling over cliffs, picking up rocks on the road, arguing with rival wizard Leibniz, and climbing a tower that won't stop swaying in the wind.

"A Note from the Librarian" sidebars throughout the story that connect each plot moment to the real physics: Newton's three laws, friction, the normal force, weight vs. mass, velocity vs. acceleration, with brief tastes of entropy and calculus.

"Try to Break the Law!" hands-on experiments woven into the text — things kids can try with a rolling chair, a wall, a friend, a sock.

Five practice sections in the back:

• A worked free-body-diagram example told as a story (Newton's tippy tower)
• Five free-body-diagram problems to draw (unicorn, troll, pirate, dragon, dragon-in-dive)
• F=ma setup practice with friction
• A creative writing prompt — "you've been appointed the official bard of the land of fairy tale physics" — write your own physics story about Newton's Second Law
• Riddles in the Woods with the Trickster Fairy, on identifying third-law force pairs

A vocabulary glossary at the end covering force, perpendicular, normal, weight, mass, velocity, and acceleration in plain language.

Included with your paperback: bonus Free Body Diagrams Worksheet (with answer key)

Your purchase also comes with a separate illustrated worksheet, delivered by a digital-download email after you order (so your reader can dig in while the book is on its way). It's designed around the most common misconceptions kids run into with free body diagrams. 20 problems total:

• 15 qualitative scenarios (a book on a table, a chandelier, a hockey puck sliding, a sailboat speeding up, a squirrel on a branch, sliding across the floor in your socks…)
• 5 "make up a scenario to fit this diagram" problems
• A full illustrated answer key with every force labeled

Great for reinforcing what the book teaches, or as a standalone for any kid learning Newton's laws.

A note on answers

The book itself doesn't have a traditional answer key — the practice problems are resolved within the story. For example, the Trickster Fairy walks you through whether each force pair is a third-law pair and why. The bonus worksheet does have a full separate answer key.

To summarize, here's everything you'll get

• The paperback book (123 pages, full-color illustrations), shipped to you
• PDF of the Free Body Diagrams Worksheet, with answer key
• The worksheet arrives by email after purchase; the paperback arrives in 2–3 weeks

About the author

Sarah Allen tutored math and physics for twenty years before becoming a full-time fantasy writer. She has a physics degree from the University of Washington (graduated with college and departmental honors) and a master's in Cognition and Learning from Columbia. Her goal is to write the sort of physics books she would have wanted as a kid.

Ages 9–12 · 123 pages · Illustrated in color