THE INVISIBLE MAN AND OTHER CASES

This production of the seventh entry in Seymour Simon's series about Einstein Anderson, a sixth-grade science whiz, doesn't do much to improve the original. These short stories about Einstein and his friends attempt to illustrate various scientific topics by presenting situations and then inviting listeners to "solve the mystery" before Einstein does. Johnny Heller captures the children's voices and adds enthusiasm to the text, but he can't overcome the lack of engaging characters. Solving the scientific mysteries is difficult even for the adult listener when the mysteries address topics as diverse as eye function, water pressure, and rattlesnake behavior without first providing some background information. This audio seems best suited for use in science classrooms. A.F. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB / MAR 03]