Optical physics for babies

Chris Ferrie - Author

A colourful introduction to light that sets reflection and refraction alongside the making of rainbows. It is designed to share basic optical-physics ideas with very young children and their grown-ups.

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Book Analysis

At a Glance

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Reflection· ExplainedRefraction· ExplainedRainbows· Explained

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

reflectionrefractionrainbowslight

Non-fictionPicture book

Themes in Context

Introducing optical physics

The book presents reflection and refraction as basic optical-physics concepts and connects them with how rainbows are made.Exploratory / explanatory

How the book presents it: Its stated approach is introductory and informational, using these concepts to explain light-related phenomena.

Talk about: Which idea does the child find easiest to describe, and where might they have noticed it before?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

Its focus on a few named ideas gives a shared starting point for noticing how light behaves. The playful tone may make a scientific subject approachable for a child and accompanying adult alike.

What Deserves Attention

The book introduces scientific terms such as reflection and refraction. A child may benefit from pausing over the words and connecting them to examples they already recognise, such as a rainbow.

A Conversation Worth Having

What do you think is happening to the light when it reflects or refracts, and how might those ideas help explain a rainbow?

Reading Approach

Read together and let the child lead the pace: linger on each new term, invite them to describe what they think it means, then return to the rainbow example to link the ideas.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.

What remains unconfirmed

Introducing optical physics: The precise explanations, examples and amount of detail in the book are not established.

Optical Physics for Babies - Chris Ferrie - Google Books

Limited information

Checked: 2 October 2026.

Relevant to: Introducing optical physics

Optical physics for babies by Chris Ferrie | Open Library