Thomas Edison for Kids: His Life and Ideas, 21 Activities (19) (For Kids series)

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About Thomas Edison For Kids: His Life And Ideas, 21

From School Library Journal Grade 5-9–Presented chronologically and always in a positive light, the inventor's life is described in considerable detail. Being the workaholic that he was, it's understandable that there's little mention of his personal life once he moves out of his teens. Enough detail is given about his childhood that one senses the single-mindedness that drove his genius. However, with so much emphasis on Edison's many inventions and projects, one can easily get bogged down. Photographs, frequent diagrams, and sidebars add interesting insights. Short biographies of his peers, both friends and foes, are included. The activities tend to have text-heavy instructions and lack detailed diagrams. The explanation of atoms and their charges in Make an Electrically Charged Puppet Dance is inaccurate. Also, some of the activities become repetitious, particularly those showing the persistence of vision phenomenon used to achieve motion photography. Sources for science experiments, lists of related museums, and Web sites are appended. For Edison enthusiasts and invention fans, this book is a serviceable addition. Most libraries that own Brian Williams's Thomas Alva Edison (Heinemann Library, 2001) or Marfe Ferguson Delano's Inventing the Future (National Geographic, 2002) don't need it.–Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description Thomas Edison, one of the world's greatest inventors, is introduced in this fascinating activity book. Children will learn how Edison ushered in an astounding age of invention with his unique way of looking at things and refusal to be satisfied with only one solution to a problem. This book helps inspire kids to be inventors and scientists, as well as persevere with their own ideas. Activities allow children to try Edison's experiments themselves, with activities such as making a puppet dance using static electricity, manufacturing a switch for electric current, constructing a telegraph machine, manipulating sound waves, building an electrical circuit to test for conductors and insulators, making a zoetrope, and testing a dandelion for latex. In addition to his inventions and experiments, the book explores Edison's life outside of science, including his relationship with inventor Nikola Tesla, his rivalry with George Westinghouse, and his friendship with Henry Ford. A time line, glossary, and lists of supply sources, places to visit, and websites for further exploration complement this activity book. From Booklist Gr. 4-7. Carlson combines, with some success, a lively biography of one of the most creative and inventive minds in history with 21 activity pages that students can use to replicate some of the simplest of Edison's experiments. Edison, mostly deaf and thought to be a slow learner as a child, never stopped investigating. He tended to ignore his first wife and their children and didn't do much better with his second set, but he brought the world the phonograph, incandescent electric light, the storage battery, the moving-picture projector--and an electric pen now used in tattooing. He also pretty much created the Skunk Works labratory model that Apple, Microsoft, and many other think tanks use today. A handful of sidebars about Henry Ford, Nikola Tesla, and others whose lives and work intersected with Edison's, and black-and-white illustrations, many of them period, contribute texture. An extensive list of resources adds value. GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review "A solid addition to the Edison shelf." —Kirkus Reviews "Approachable and educational...a valuable resource for units on electricity, communication, or inventors." —VOYA "A wonderful addition to your homeschool library. Nothing dry and dull here." —Home Educator’s Family Times "Inspires kids to be inventors and scientists and persevere with t