Children's Writer, Book Reviewer, Teacher, Artist
What a great fun and heartwarming story this is! 'The Many Worlds of Albie Bright' is funny, heartfelt and brimming with ideas. It cracks along at quite a pace but never feels rushed or overly-sentimental. I only wish there had been more of it!
Albie Bright has lost his mum to cancer. Like his dad, she was a scientist having worked at CERN on the large hadron collider. His dad has produced texts on quantum physics and Albie is interested: can he find his mum in a parallel universe?
The concept of this story is simply wonderful. Underpinned by complex science, sure to challenge many Year 6s (and rightly so), the plot is both ingenious but also a huge amount of fun. Without giving to much away, the method in which Albie travels to other parallel worlds owes a lot to the experiment with Schrodinger's cat, while also being completely hilarious. His discoveries in the other worlds are not only surprising but also develop Albie as a character, culminating in a conclusion that warms the heart.
My only criticism: it was too short! I could have continued travelling with Albie across many more parallel worlds. But this is testament to how well Christopher Edge can hook a reader. I couldn't stop reading and then it was over! Thankfully, I hear there are a few more Christopher Edge books I can seek out. If you're interested pre-order his 'The Longest Night of Charlie Noon' out this June: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-longest-night-of-charlie-noon/christopher-edge/9781788004947