Before Isaac Newton became the father of physics, an accomplished mathematician, or a leader of the scientific revolution, he was a boy living in an apothecary’s house, observing and experimenting, recording his observations of the world in a tiny notebook.

Young Isaac studied the few books he could get his hands on, built handmade machines, and experimented with alchemy a process of chemical reactions that seemed, at the time, to be magical.

Mary Losure’s riveting narrative nonfiction account of Isaac’s early life traces his development as a thinker from his childhood in friendly prose, and includes an afterword, an author’s note, source notes, a bibliography, and an index.

• Now in a classroom-friendly paperback, a vivid, simple, and impeccably researched account of Newton's ideas and influence.
• A lively biography that reads like a novel about the scientist-mathematician. Newton in a beautifully crafted nutshell!
• A fascinating exploration of the development of rational scientific ideas alongside older notions of magic and alchemy.

“Much about Newton’s life has to be conjecture, but the author adds details from history and from her understanding of human behavior that make this splendid story both convincing and accessible.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)