ISAAC THE ALCHEMIST by Mary Losure takes a fascinating look into the life of Isaac Newton.

This work of narrative nonfiction immerses readers in the life of a boy living in an apothecary’s house. Readers will be particularly intrigued by the connections between magic and science during Isaac’s time period. The book concludes with information about Isaac’s notebooks, science, and additional sources.

Librarians will find this well-written biography to be popular with both children who enjoy narrative nonfiction as well as those simply looking for good report material. The short chapters, discussions of magic and science, and interesting primary source visuals will appeal to reluctant readers. Look for this title on “best of children’s nonfiction” lists for 2017.

Published by Candlewick on February 1, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

When most of us think of Isaac Newton, we think about an apple falling on his head and his formulating his law of gravity and his three laws of motion. But there is much more to his life and Mary Losure has written an extraordinary, well-researched biography of Isaac Newton, beginning with his childhood and a mother who essentially abandoned him as a young boy.

Born on December 25, 1642, Isaac, a loner, spent much of his childhood living in a third floor room in an apothecary’s home in an English village called Grantham. His father was dead, and his mother remarried a man who didn’t want Isaac in the house. Isaac lived in a world dominated by Puritans, but one that still held many mysteries about the physical world and he spent much of his time pondering these mysteries and studying alchemy in the hope of creating a philosopher’s stone, believing such a stone would hold the answers to all his questions. As a result of his studies, he had to teach himself advanced mathematics, inventing what he called fluxions, a precursor to modern calculus, along the way.

Eventually, Isaac ended up at Trinity College Cambridge, where he remained as a mathematics professor after his student days ended. Still a loner, and still studying alchemy, he continued his experiments there, still hoping to create a philosopher’s stone.

Sent home from Cambridge because of the plague in 1665-66, Isaac spent much of his time wondering about the rules that govern the paths moving objects took through space, paths he could calculate using fluxions. But what, he wondered, kept the moon on its path? But it was much later that the answer finally came to him, and again, using fluxions, he developed his three laws of motion, laws that would later be called Newtonian Physics.

I majored in philosophy as an undergrad, and we studied some Newtonian ideas, and I never really thought Isaac Newton was a terribly interesting person. However, Losure has given his life an interesting spin by referring to him most of the time as a alchemist/magician and focusing on his alchemical interests and experiments, one of which resulted in fireworks that lit up the night sky when he was still a boy. Much of what Losure writes is speculation based on what facts there are about Isaac Newton’s life. She has done this in part by presenting a believable picture of the kind of world Isaac lived in, adding real depth to her biography of this illusive magician/scientist. In fact, Newton still has the distinction of being the world’s greatest alchemist, and one of the world’s greatest scientists.

Losure has included copious reproductions of illustrations throughout the book, some by Isaac, some from other sources, but all from the time of Isaac’s life. There is also a Bibliography and list of Works Consulted for the very curious who might want to explore Isaac Newton’s life and/or times in more depth.

I have to admit, I put off reading Isaac the Alchemist for a long time despite the many wonderful reviews I had read about it, and am I sorry I did. This is probably one of the most compelling, interesting and accessible scientist biographies I’ve ever read. I think that whether your young readers are interested in science or magic (alchemy), or just big Harry Potter fans who already know about the philosopher’s stone, they will find Isaac Newton’s life and times as fascinating as I did.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was sent to my by the publisher, Candlewick Press

This was an interesting look into the life of Sir Isaac Newton. He was a reclusive man who kept many of discoveries secret for a long time. He also had a fascination with alchemy. This seems directly opposite of his scientific mind but at the time both the sciences and alchemy were seen as "magic". This book shows the bridge of these two interests of Newton. The text is not too dense with mathematical or scientific terms or equations so for the most part it is an accessible read for students. The difficulty lies in the direct quotes from his works and other people talking about him. These contain old English spellings and grammar which could trip up younger readers. I was sent a copy of the book by the publisher to review for MSBA and also had an eBook from NetGalley. I liked the text and hope others on the committee read it but it would probably be too complex for the readers in my library - I will pass it on to the junior high.

Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton Revealed

Remember that you heard it here first when they start giving out book honors and awards for nonfiction. Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton Revealed by Mary Losure begs for star reviews and stickers for its cover.

Beautiful writing got my attention early. “It was like magic. It was also very much like alchemy. As he slept that night in the apothecary’s house, Isaac was not yet an alchemist and would not be for many years. But already the seeds of magic had been planted in his mind.”

Mary Losure paints a picture of a disturbed lonely child who becomes a prickly adult more at home with numbers and puzzles about the workings of the universe than with people. The book intrigues the reader who may know little more about the person Isaac Newton than the old legend of his discovering gravity when an apple falls on his head. (She clarifies that, too.)

The author explains how much he contributed to math and science as a forerunner to Einstein who built on his work and how much his discoveries are used today even though his original goal had more to do with alchemy. She quotes famous economist John Maynard Keynes saying Newton, “was not the first of the age of reason. He was the last of the magicians.”

Her back matter is only slightly less interesting than the book itself including some extra tidbits not found in the text, source materials, and a bibliography.

I read my copy on my Kindle, with gratitude to Net Galley and Candlewick Publishers for the ARC, and can’t wait for a preschool math-loving grandson to get old enough to read it. I do recommend buying it in hard copy, as I will before I put it aside for him to age a bit. The pictures deserve to be examined and seen on paper one can touch.

I asked to review this book because I thought it might be a book that I would enjoy that my sons (8, 11) might also like. Other than Newtonian physics, I didn't know too much about Isaac Newton. This book talks about some of his laws of physics, but mostly discusses his role as an alchemist. There are a few things that I really enjoyed about the book. The first was that it gives a lot of information about what Isaac was like as a person. As a music teacher, there are many times that I notice that my students have an idea about who famous composers are, or what they did, but they do not really have any idea how these people fit into "the big picture" historically. These composers just seem like facts in a book rather than people. It was nice to for me to hear about Isaac's quirks and personality traits, as well information about his family and living conditions. Ms. Losure also explains some of the concepts that were known/unknown in the time period that Newton was living in (Ex. how a prism works- what Newton discovered vs. what was thought at the time or how planets moved through space)

Another thing I enjoyed was that it was a quick, easy, entertaining read. I wondered if some kids would understand some of the more technical information, like some of the symbols used in Alchemy, but there were definitely science-related things that they will find very interesting, like the information on simple machines. Towards the end of the book, the author tells how some of the discoveries made by Newton have been used in other scientific successes (like sending a rocket into space). Ms. Losure also wrote a few blurbs that kind of challenged kids to come up with their own discoveries and inquiries. I also enjoyed her mention of some of the interesting resources she used and the supplemental material at the end of the book. As an adult, I enjoyed learning more about the historical background of alchemy, the Philosopher's Stone, influences of other mathematicians/philosophers/scientists, etc.

I would recommend this to children who like biographies and science. This might be a cool book for elementary classroom teachers to have in their classroom for students to read for fun. I will ask my 11 year old son to give his opinion here on my blog when he is finished with the book. Thanks to Candlewick Press for the digital copy.

Isaac the Alchemist tells the story of Isaac Newton's childhood. He lived apart from his family for most of his early years, and managed to educate himself about science, mathematics, and alchemy through the very few books on those subjects and through the apothecary that he resided with during that period. The book has the feel of a biography for kids written before 1985 -- much more thorough than any today, and told like a story rather than an accumulation of facts.

Isaac Newton lived so long ago that I'm impressed so much has been pieced together about his childhood. He spent his youth living in the attic above an apothecary reading, doing experiments and making contraptions. After the first fifty pages, I started thinking of him as we would today as a "maker". Kids that are also makers will dig the detailed descriptions and love the historical sketches that are included. Also as ADD- inattentive as one of my own boys was diagnosed years ago. When Isaac tried to work on his families farm, he often got distracted and wandered away. Eventually, his family decided that he would never make a good farmer and sent him to university. Which turned out to be a good plan.The story also touches on the plague and the great London fire which is helpful to kids connecting history together. This story is engaging and well written and is based on Newton's actual notebooks.(you can read them free online here.) I think kids will also like that while you learn about his major math and science theories a lot of the story is devoted to his study of alchemy as well.

I read a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

A fascinating look at the youth, young adulthood, and development of the great scholar Isaac Newton. The author describes the context in which he grew up, his development as a scientist, and his remarkable discoveries. End matter further explains Newton's work. She concludes that her was not the first scientist of the Age of Reason, but the last Magician.