Young Thomas Edison

by Sterling North

Unable to hear, Thomas Edison seemed unlikely to become one of America's greatest inventors, but as a hardworking young man, he wasn't about to let a minor obstacle stop him. He invented the phonograph, the incandescent lightbulb, and motion pictures, to name but three of his many important inventions. Eventually he was named "the greatest living American." Follow Thomas Edison's life from losing his sense of hearing to losing his hard-earned fortune, in this intriguing biography by Newbery Honor author Sterling North.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Science, Childrens

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Thomas Sterling North was an American author of books for children and adults, including 1963's bestselling Rascal. Surviving a near-paralyzing struggle with polio in his teens, he grew to young adulthood in the quiet southern Wisconsin village of Edgerton, which North transformed into the "Brailsford Junction" setting of several of his books.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling...

Reviews

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly everyone is familiar with the name of inventor Thomas Alva Edison. Al, as he was known in his youth, is credited with the invention of the telephone receiver, motion pictures, the phonograph, the electric generator, and especially the incandescent light bulb, among hundreds and even thousands of other items. The firm which he founded eventually became part of “G. E.” (the General Electric Corporation), and his name is still carried by several local utility companies. Eventually he was named “the greatest living American.”

Author Sterling North, who is perhaps best known for his semi-autobiographical, Newbery-honor winning novel Rascal, also wrote several biographies for young people, including Abe Lincoln : Log Cabin to White House, George Washington: Frontier Colonel, both for Landmark Books, and two others that have been recently reissued by Puffin, including one about Thomas Edison. In this intriguing biography, young readers can follow Edison’s life from losing his sense of hearing through losing his hard-earned fortune to his great successes. They will see that as a hardworking young man, he wasn’t about to let any minor obstacles stop him. He is often quoted as saying that success was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration (hard work).

It is especially noteworthy that “Al’s only experience with school was brief and painful.” Therefore, his mother taught him at home, and North points out, “Because of his native intelligence and his mother’s teaching ability, Al managed to master college-level history” while still in his elementary years. North also records that while Edison, who was called a “freethinker” and accused of being an atheist but once said, “that there is a Supreme Intelligence I do not doubt,” had lived as a partial doubter, in his last conscious moment turned to his wife and said, “It’s very beautiful over there.” The book is well written and thrilling to read for both kids and adults. One reviewer noted, “I'm glad we had Mr. Edison before this current age of stifling government regulations and endless laws and taxes.”

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with Dallin. I couldn't have read a better book with Dallin. This was the 1958 edition. I would try to find this edition, because the writing was excellent, the moral's and ethics presented were also excellent. It credited Edison over and over again for having the qualities that every parent would want developed at Dallin's age. He absolutely loved it, but he already had a love for a science and for inventors. I loved that it discussed scientific processes in terms that Dallin could understand, but in no way were the processes "dumbed down" like many current biographies for children.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

FINALLY FINISHED