註釋
George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt by Lucy and Stephen Hawking
A grand caper which emphasises children's understanding of science.
A review by Benjamin Manktelow
George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt, hereafter GCTH, the second book in the George series, has George and his friends looking for aliens, and not in the way usually tackled in children's books. When you read "[George] was wide awake now so he got out his copy of The User's Guide and turned to the chapter: 'How to Talk to Aliens'", and the subsequent section from the Guide discussing SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) in a serious, and interesting manner, the reader knows that something else is happening in the pages of this book. This marks a book that not only helps children learn, but also one that can be used by teachers in school, to enable learning in a fun environment. To find an Index to Specific Factual Sections at the end of the book is another joy. Instead of a textbook with an accompanying story, GCTH is a story with an accompanying textbook.
The story, of course, is rather grand (as befits its title). Humbly beginning with a fancy dress party in a neighbour's house, George quickly learns that the only reason he doesn't understand what is being discussed, is due to nobody explaining it to him, and not because he's stupid. The story really starts when George's friend Annie, and her parents, leave for Florida where Eric, a scientist and Annie's dad, plans to land a robot on the surface of Mars. It is this mar-lander that Annie thinks is relaying an alien message to earth that only she can see. And so, Annie asks George to help her solve the mystery. Adding to the fun are Emmett, a genius nine-year-old, and the resurrected Cosmos the computer, full of teenager slang and attitude. To say anymore is to spoil what is a caper of cosmic proportions in the traditional style of because the adults won't listen, the children go off and have the adventure themselves.
The inclusion of Stephen Hawking's name as an author often feel like it's only there to sell books. There is also the indelible feeling that the touch of Hawking's approach to popularising science and education through narrative leaves its mark here (as it does in all three George books). Being versed in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I enjoyed the invention of the User's Guide to the Universe written by Eric and his scientist friends, and given to George. And as someone interested in how to bring big ideas to children, I especially enjoyed the sections that take the time to explain the actual science and the understanding scientists have regarding the universe. For an adult buying the book(s) for a child, the inclusion of famous scientists in the entries of the Handbook, means the facts are reputable.
As an aspiring teacher, I cannot help feeling that GCTH is spelling out ways to make children not only interested in the universe through its story, but also through its willingness to treat children as having the ability(s) to understand the actual science. Discussing the integration of actual science into GCTH may give the impression that it is educational first, and a children's story second, but such an assertion couldn’t be further from the truth! Instead, the story hinges and relies upon George being a child, and is fun in itself. The way the book is constructed with User Guide essays interwoven with the story means that it is simple to skip the essays and still have the rich reward that is the story.
I hope it is not unfair to say that many, perhaps most, people do not know of, or understand, the four forces which underpin the universe we inhabit. From this point of view, it is striking and wonderful to see the four forces - electromagnetism, the weak force, the strong force, and gravity -explained simply so that children can understand it (and in only two pages!).
When a child comes up to you and tells you all they learned regarding aliens from GCTH, you don't have to think "oh yes, it's just a children's story." There are real nuggets of information and learning, which makes what a child thought of, and got from, the book all the more fascinating, creating a book that does more than keep children occupied. The George's books are a treasure in themselves.
