The Singer and the Scientist is a charmingly illustrated book for young readers by Lisa Rose with illustrations by Isabel Muñoz. Due out 1st April 2021 from Lerner on their Kar-Ben imprint, it's 32 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a well written account of Marian Anderson’s performance at the McCarter Theatre in 1937 where she met Einstein. The issues of race and segregated performances in the USA are handled in a sensitive and age appropriate manner. The text is well written and short and the illustrations are colorful and engaging. The book also includes a short retelling of the 1939 DAR concert cancellation (and Eleanor Roosevelt's subsequent resignation from the DAR and concert rescheduling at the Lincoln Memorial in front of an audience of 75,000 people).

I would recommend this one to public and school libraries, classroom use, or home library. Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The writer does a great job of taking a tough moment in history, capturing how sad it was and yet not being cliche in its exploration. It also captures the surprising generosity of a well-known man who's best-known for his scientific discoveries.

I had no idea about this story before.
What a beautiful narration weaving the problems of racism of the time whilst still keeping it suitable for middle graders. Loved the illustrations and the prose. An important book to read for the little ones that bring up race, Jews vs Nazis, music and friendship.
I loved it!

I loved this. I didn’t know about this story so reading it actually made me cry. The illustrations were awesome and perfect for the story telling.

I'd like to thank Kar-Ben Publishing for this review copy!

I love non fiction and I love children books so I was very excited for this book which recount the first encouter between the meeting and friendship of the singer Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein. I thought that the narration was very suitable for children, which are the targeted audience. I absolutely LOVED Isabel Muñoz's illustrations. They are lovely and really brought to life the characters emotions and personal experiences.

I'd totally recommend this book.

This is a great book! It blends together the empathy of two humans - discrimination by both a black woman and Jewish man and demonstrating their common understanding of the injustices they each experienced. They happened to be very talented and well known too! Item we read about the accomplishments of the lives of people in history. This book invites us to read and learn about their hearts.

Thanks, NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group, for the ARC copy of this book.
Read and reviewed by seven-year-old Amy.
'The Singer and the Scientist' is a wonderful picture book.
Marian was a famous African-American singer. After performing in a concert, Marian found that the nearby hotels were all white hotels, and she wasn’t allowed to stay in any of them. Albert Einstein, who was also present at the concert, offered her to stay at his residence for the night.
This story tells us about how people faced discrimination in past times. I am glad that we live in better times now, and people do not have to face discrimination.
We also learned that Albert Einstein loved to play violin when he was only five-years-old. And even he faced discrimination in his homeland Germany.
There are colorful illustrations in this book that will keep the children engaged.
I recommend this book to children three years and above.
I give this book 5/5 stars.

I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Rose has created a beautifully written tribute to friendship and to breaking barriers. Marian Anderson performed at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ in 1937. In the audience was another well known person, Albert Einstein. Following the performance, the glaring prejudice comes through when no one will speak to Marian nor will the hotel manager help her find a hotel room for the night. Einstein steps forward and steps up to greet her and offer his hospitality. Together, they share their experiences in Germany as a Jew and in America as a Black. Bonding over music, they begin a friendship that lasts for their lifetimes.
Readers see a different view of Albert Einstein in his role as a political activist and musician. They also see how bold Marian Anderson's choices were. Lovely illustrations bring the text to life.

I adored the story and the artwork. Isabel Muňoz is an amazing illustrator.
The story is about two great minds, coming together – Albert Einstein and Marian Anderson. Marian met Albert Einstein after her performance at the theater McCarter in 1937 and stayed at his house since nobody else was able to offer her a room for the night and treated her in a very aggressive language. She received this hostility from the others since she was an African-American, therefore in that time she was not welcome in certain hotels and restaurants.
The book mentions the beginning of a real-life friendship between these two main personalities. Einstein, who was Jewish, was sensitized to racism by the years of Nazi-inspired threats and harassment he suffered. When they go towards his house, Marian observes that Einstein cultivated relationships in the town’s African-American community. He helped the son of one of his African-American neighbor in school.
A 5 stars touching story and I truly recommend it to be read to little children and not only.

Loved the colors in this one, and this was a story I did not know. I had on idea these two figures crossed paths or that Einstein hosted Anderson. I do feel like there is more nuance to this story and the lives of these individuals than this short book lets on, but I greatly enjoyed reading it.

That was the cutest and most interesting story I had never heard of before. The story itself was interesting to read and the artwork was beautiful.

The Singer and the Scientist describes one small act by a great man dedicated to Human Rights. Albert Einstein was not just a great scientist but also a political activist who teaches us a lesson in equality and what it means to be a "mensch" while Marian Anderson teaches us a lesson in humility and forbearance in the face of bigotry. This will make for an interesting and wonderful read with my grandchildren. The illustrations are beautiful, and the message is mature and instructing.

This book was what I needed to read! It was warm, it was simple, and it was just perfect. As a teacher and a musician, I know that I can use this across the curriculum and feel good about it.

While the story feels like would be made up, the encounter and friendship between these two is historical fact. Appropriate for very young learners, discrimination is gently and clearly described, with the focus remaining on how two humans find commonalities and connection. The welcome Einstein gives Anderson is reinforced by the warm and simple illustrations. Nice historical note for adults.

How a Brilliant Scientist and Stunning Singer Became Devoted Friends
Book Review

It’s 1937 at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, and Marian Anderson is one of America’s most famous singers. She has been performing music ranging from opera to spirituals with renowned orchestras in major venues throughout the U.S. and Europe for twelve years.

In the theater are an all-white audience decked out in furs, diamonds, pearls, and tailored suits. But when the curtain parts, all eyes are on her. As she performs, the audience is rapt.

There’s one man in the front row with wild white hair and wrinkled clothes who taps his foot to the rhythm of her music.

At the end of her performance, the audience erupts in a standing ovation, and Marian bows graciously.

After her performance, when she is tired and foot-sore, she asks the theater owner to help her arrange a room at the nearby Nassau Inn for the night. He informs her that the Nassau is a whites-only hotel. He speaks so loudly that talking in the lobby momentarily ceases.

None of the people in the lobby who had just been applauding her comes forward to assist -- none, except the man with the wild white hair who turns out to be none other than the famous scientist and mathematician, Albert Einstein.

Einstein comes forward to rave about her performance and says that she must be tired after her exertion. He offers her his spare room for the night.

Thus began an unlikely friendship that would last long after that evening.

The Singer and the Scientist is a beautiful 32-page picture book by Lisa Rose for children ages 5-11 that tells a little-known story about the evening Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein became friends.

That evening, over refreshments in his home, Einstein shared with Marian how he was from Germany and how things had become extremely difficult for Jewish people like himself in Europe. He told her how the Nazis had taken his house away from him and had even burned his book on the theory of relativity at a book burning at the town square.

Over this conversation after the performance, they discovered not only their shared passion for music – Einstein played his violin for her – but also their shared hopes for a more just world.

This book includes evocative illustrations that draw the reader into this intimate moment of history while staying true to the period’s aesthetic. The writing is simple, yet it helps even young children understand the big issues of racism, inclusion, and the importance of standing up for others.

Although Albert Einstein was most famous as a scientist and mathematician, he was also a political activist who made speeches, wrote articles, and chaired many organizations urging the end of racism in America.

Marion Anderson was uncomfortable as an activist. However, she would become an influential figure in African American artists’ struggle to overcome prejudice in the U.S.

Famously, two years later, in 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow her to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.

However, with the help of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anderson performed an open-air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the Lincoln Memorial steps in the capital. There she sang before an integrated crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions.

The Singer and the Scientist is a beautiful book for introducing history, concepts of injustice, the importance of kindness, and what it means to be a true friend. It will be available on March 31, 2021.

Reference

Marian Anderson, Wikipedia

(This review first appeared with illustrations and media here: https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2171630601753/how-a-brilliant-scientist-and-stunning-singer-became-devoted-friends?s=influencer)

I absolutely adored this little-known story! I mean, Einstein and Marian Anderson--who knew? This is such a beautiful combination of kindness and connection in a world that sorely needs it! A great choice for kids and adults alike.

This book was a wonderful story about two important people in history. It told us how the characters came together through hardships they had both experienced and became friends. Some people might have heard stories about Einstein and Marian but I'm sure few had heard of their story together. Illustrations showed so much emotion. Highly recommend this book.

The Singer and the Scientist is a wonderful book about an unlikely but beautiful friendship in a world of discrimination between Albert Einstein and singer Marian Anderson. Anderson gives a concert, but is not allowed to stay at the hotel she has just performed because it is "whites only." Albert Einstein has just seen her perform and raves about it, eventually offering to let her stay at his nearby home. They become fast friends and Einstein's kindness is truly heartwarming to read about. He feels a kinship as he has been discriminated against as a Jew in Europe. I loved reading about their friendship and commonalities. This may be best for upper elementary school aged children as the content may be too heavy for younger children. It mentions racism and the persecution of Jews in Europe. I recommend this if you've enjoyed the Little People Big Dreams series. This is one of my favorite children's books!

Thank you Lerner Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

A very cute story of Marian Anderson finding in a friend in Albert Einstein. Music is their common ground. The illustrations are cute. They have the lightness of being.
While reading he end of the book, where Marian had to make a tough decision, I was reminded of Halima Aden.

What a wonderful story that I had never heard. The illustrations went beautifully with the storyline and I enjoyed it emmensly!