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Summary
Summary
Discover how Benjamin Franklin's scientific method challenged a certain Dr. Mesmer's mysterious powers in a whimsical look at a true moment in history.
The day Ben Franklin first set foot in Paris, France, he found the city all abuzz. Everyone was talking about something new--remarkable, thrilling, and strange. Something called . . . Science!
But soon the straightforward American inventor Benjamin Franklin is upstaged by a compelling and enigmatic figure: Dr. Mesmer. In elaborately staged shows, Mesmer, wearing a fancy coat of purple silk and carrying an iron wand, convinces the people of Paris that he controls a magic force that can make water taste like a hundred different things, cure illness, and control thoughts! But Ben Franklin is not convinced. Will his practical approach of observing, hypothesizing, and testing get to the bottom of the mysterious Mesmer's tricks? A rip-roaring, lavishly illustrated peek into a fascinating moment in history shows the development and practice of the scientific method--and reveals the amazing power of the human mind.
Author Notes
Mara Rockliff is the author of many books for children, including The Busiest Street in Town and Me and Momma and Big John, winner of a Golden Kite Award . Mara Rockliff lives in eastern Pennsylvania with her family.
Iacopo Bruno is an illustrator and graphic designer living in Milan, Italy.
Reviews (5)
Horn Book Review
In 1778 Franz Anton Mesmer, fleeing scandal, brought his technique of "animal magnetism" to Paris. Using magnets and a "glass armonica," his procedure convinced many that they were cured of their ailments. King Louis XVI commissioned the French Academy of Sciences to investigate, and they appointed a commission that included Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier, among others. The commission debunked Mesmer's procedure (as practiced by his assistant D'Eslon), through their invention of the "blind" test and discovery of the placebo effect. Rockliff gives Franklin all the glory in her brief, sometimes jumpy narrative, suggesting he was the sole and direct appointee of the king, and that he invented and conducted the tests completely on his own (she gives a more complete context in her afterword). Aside from this grand misdirection, her text is engaging and lively ("Dr. Mesmer was as different from Ben Franklin as a fancy layered torte was from a homemade apple pie") and pairs beautifully with Bruno's dramatic and bold illustrations, which fully conduct the audience's attention. There is no way a reader will escape the truly mesmerizing and energetic design, which incorporates period Parisian flourishes. The entire presentation effectively introduces the gist of this story, and demonstrates in particular the scientific-method process which Franklin (and others) applied, and which makes this book particularly suited to STEM and Common Core curricula. nina lindsay (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Benjamin Franklin could be described in so many different ways: inventor, printer, scientist, thinker, diplomat. From this book, the word skeptic should be added to this list. While in France raising funds for the American rebellion against the British, Franklin was enlisted by Louis XVI to investigate the claims made by a young Austrian doctor who had much of Europe enthralled with his ability to remedy a wide variety of illnesses simply by waving an iron wand around their person. Calling it "animal magnetism," Franz Mesmer was treating the European elite by bringing them into darkened rooms while spellbinding music played on a glass armonica, invented by none other than Franklin himself. Mesmer would charge a rather large sum of money and pronounce his clients "cured." Doubtful of Mesmer's abilities, Franklin set about disproving the doctor's claims. Rockliff's lighthearted tone and lively writing style are enhanced by the use of different typefaces and print sizes, as well as a layout that will keep readers engaged throughout. Rockliff plays with words and rhythm, making this book an excellent choice for reading aloud. The artwork is infused with humor, and the individual's expressions throughout are a delight, from the look on the face of a swooning patient to Mesmer's own intense glare. There is much here to draw the eye and prod discussion. A lengthy author's note fills in the details of the story and provides information on the scientific method. Overall, a wonderful and fun-filled title that introduces yet another facet of a fascinating man.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Rockliff (Me and Momma and Big John) sashays into the scientific and political world of the late 18th century with a playful narrative that explains the origin of the word "mesmerized" as it details Benjamin Franklin's role in debunking a miracle cure of the day. Dr. Franz Mesmer's secretive "medicine" is taking Paris by storm: "When he stared into his patients' eyes and waved [his iron] wand, things happened. Women swooned. Men sobbed. Children fell down in fits." In a gesture of indebtedness to King Louis XVI, Franklin demystifies Mesmer's techniques using the scientific method, revealing that the man's "cures" reside in the patients' heads. Bruno's realistic, digitally colored illustrations contrast Franklin's unadorned American sensibilities with the fancier stylings of pre-French Revolution Paris (embellishments include curlicues, bold and flowery typefaces, and optical illusions on the endpapers). A lengthier retelling of the story is included, along with descriptions (printed on old-fashioned medicine bottles) of the placebo effect and how a "blind" scientific study works. A stylish and humorous exploration of the scientific method and the mysteries of the human mind. Ages 6-9. Author's agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* On brilliantly illustrated pages full of rococo details and beautifully calligraphed text, Rockliff tells the story of how Benjamin Franklin debunked Dr. Mesmer's magical cure-all. As scientific innovation swept France in the eighteenth century, Mesmer decided to bring his own discovery to the mix animal magnetism, an invisible force responsible for remarkable, seemingly spontaneous healing. Dubious of the true benefits of being mesmerized, King Louis XVI called on the most popular man of science, Ben Franklin, to help investigate. With a heavy emphasis on his use of the scientific method, Rockliff shows how Franklin's experiment blindfolding subjects so that they don't know they're being mesmerized led to the discovery of the placebo effect, a vital component of medical testing to this day. Her dramatic text is perfectly complemented by Bruno's lush, full-color illustrations, stuffed with period detail and sweeping ribbons and curlicues. Each page is teeming with personality, from the font choice to the layout to the expressive figures to the decorative details surrounding a name on one spread, Franklin is in a tidy serif, while Mesmer is nearly choked by flourishes. Together, Rockliff and Bruno make the scientific method seem exciting, and kids interested in science and history will likely be, well, mesmerized.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2010 Booklist
Kirkus Review
Ben Franklin's several years in France during the American Revolution included an occasion on which he consulted on a scientific matter for the French king. Louis XVI commissioned a study when he became concerned about the number of complaints he was hearing from French doctors about a GermanDr. Franz Mesmerwho seemed to wield a powerful, mysterious method of healing. Among the scientists and doctors asked to report was the American emissary Benjamin Franklin. In Rockliff's account, Franklin observes Mesmer's colleague, Charles D'Eslon, at work, then tinkers with Mesmer's "animal magnetism" technique by blindfolding and misdirecting D'Eslon's subjects. Franklin's hypothesisthat results were accounted for by the subject's imagination and not an external forceis quickly proved. Text displayed in ribbons, a couple of late-18th-century typefaces and other flourishes create a sense of time and place. The endpapers are brightly hypnotic. Bruno's digitally colored pencil art lightly evokes period caricature and gently pokes fun at the ornate clothing and hair of French nobility. The tale is nicely pitched to emphasize the importance of a hypothesis, testing and verification, and several inset text boxes are used to explain these scientific tools. Rockliff points out that Franklin's blind-test technique is in use today for medical treatments, and both the placebo effect and hypnosis are studied today. Rockliff and Bruno's playful approach buoys solid science and history. (author's note, sources) (Nonfiction. 8-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
