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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Scientific discoveries were all the rage the first time Ben Franklin visited Paris. His own work showing lightning was the same as electricity—arrived at through the scientific method of observation, hypothesis, and testing—was among the ideas that dazzled Parisians. Then a man named Dr. Mesmer captivated the French city with his claims that he had discovered a mysterious force that “streamed from the stars and flowed into his wand” and with which he could cure sickness (not to mention make people swoon, twitch, and tremble). On a return trip to Paris, Ben used the scientific method to prove that mesmerizing was a hoax (and a lucrative one at that): It was all the power of suggestion. This expansive and entertaining picture book is told and illustrated with humor and pizzazz while introducing, explaining, and reinforcing the scientific method. A lengthy author’s note tells more about Franklin and Mesmer in Paris. (Ages 8–12)

CCBC Choices 2016 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2016. Used with permission.

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from December 15, 2014
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 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 6â€"9. Author's agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.