Physics Fables [Paperback]

Five illustrated fantasy stories, each one built around a real piece of physics — 116 pages, for readers ages 8–10. Paperback.

Read a Sample

A tortoise races a photon and loses in a way that changes what time means. A girl bargains with a sea dragon and works out why her sea has layers. A bee learns to give directions. A butterfly sees colors you can't. And a messenger crossing a dragon-filled equator discovers what her iron scepter has been doing all along.

Every story stands on its own and they can be read in any order. Each is followed by short science notes explaining the idea it was built on, and most come with something to go and try.

The five stories

• The Tortoise, the Hare, and the Photon: A Tale of Special Relativity — the race you already know the ending of, run against something that always travels at the same speed no matter how fast you chase it.
• Sakura and the Many-Layered Sea: A Tale of Density and Buoyancy — Sakura's village is starving, the sea dragon has forbidden them his eels, and the only help available is somewhere beneath a quarter-mile layer of oil. Density, buoyancy and Archimedes' Principle.
• Clemmm and the Polar Coordinates — how do you tell someone where a thing is, when neither of you has a map? Bees solved it with a dance; humans solved it with degrees. Illustrated by Nathan Ranieri Moncao.
• The Emperor Butterfly's New Clothes: An Exploration of the Physics of Animal Perception — the longest story in the collection, about polarized light and the fact that other animals live in a visibly different world from ours. Illustrated by Donna Schafer.
• The Wayfarer's Scepter: An Adventure in Magnetism — Zara carries messages between the poles of a small planet, across an equator full of dragons, with a scepter of cold iron. Illustrated by Marie Delwart.

What's inside

Fifteen science notes, set after the moments in the stories that prompt them, in plain language — density, buoyancy, polar coordinates and how bees give directions, polarized light and animal vision, special relativity, magnetism and how magnets generate electricity.

Things to go and do, using ordinary materials:

• A polar coordinates activity for two — a protractor, some sticky notes, a tape measure and a pinecone standing in for a beehive
• "See What Arnold Sees" — using the filters in a pair of 3-D glasses to get a sense of what polarized light looks like to a creature that can see it
• A magnetism build with a piece of foam, a glass of water and a sense of adventure
• A science writing prompt: pick an animal and research how it perceives the world
• Links to free online simulations, and to the Exploratorium's instructions for building a simple generator that lights a bulb

Skip every note and activity and you still have five complete stories. That's how the book is built — the author's own introduction says to read what you enjoy and skip the rest.

Digital downloads included with your order

• A PDF of the book — for any device, or for printing
• An EPUB — for Kindle, Apple Books or Kobo

Both are ready the moment you check out — the download buttons are on the confirmation page. Your order confirmation email also has a View Order and Downloads button, which takes you back to your order page to download them any time.

Shipping: this is a print-on-demand paperback — please allow 2–3 weeks for printing and delivery. If you need your copy sooner, it's also available on Amazon with faster shipping.

About the author

Sarah Allen tutored math and physics for twenty years before becoming a full-time 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 8–10 · Five illustrated stories · 116 pages