The Time and Space of Uncle Albert

A science project for young Gedanken turns into an exploration of space and time when her Uncle Albert steps in. Uncle Albert is a famous scientist, and it's his imagination that sends Gedanken into the ``largest spacecraft never built'' to examine near light-speed phenomena. This Albert is no Einstein, but with his help, Gedanken is led through Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity in a painlessly educational manner. This fictional approach to highly technical material has the obvious drawback--it is didactic. Nevertheless, the author's clear, single-minded presentation of the material does work. Although no young readers will mistake these somewhat talky adventures for science fiction in the classic sense, Stannard's easily understood explication of this century's most elegant and thought-provoking scientific ideas makes it worthwhile. Ages 11-up. (Apr.)