A Wizard from the Start: The Incredible Boyhood and Amazing Inventions of Thomas Edison

by Don Brown

A wizard from the start, Thomas Edison had a thirst for knowledge, taste for mischief, and hunger for discovery—but his success was made possible by his boundless energy. At age fourteen he coined his personal motto: “The More to do, the more to be done,” and then went out and did: picking up skills and knowledge at every turn. When learning about things that existed wasn't enough, he dreamed up new inventions to improve the world.
 
From humble beginnings as a farmer’s son, selling newspapers on trains and reading through public libraries shelf by shelf, Tom began his inventing career as a boy and became a legend as a man. 

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, Nonfiction, History, Science, Historical, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him "a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies." He lives in New York with his family.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Some good information here, a nice introduction to Edison but compared to other biographies I've read (such as Mermaid Queen: The Spectacular True Story Of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam Her Way To Fame, Fortune & Swimsuit History! or Walt Whitman: Words For America) this one gave me little insight into Edison's individual quirks and elicited no emotional response. UNTIL I got to the end of the Author's Note and OMG, I was truly shocked and horrified regarding his experiments on animals. I had never heard that before and it deeply troubled me. I'm not saying we need to put these great inventors on high horses they were, after all, only human; but if you read this to sensitive children, please skip the Author's Note or amend it in some way!!!

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book on my homeschool curriculum’s extra reading list. This book has good information with colorful drawn pictures which helps with those less then eager listeners (ahem; I have a little experience with this with a certain son of mine 😉). This book covers more of Tom’s earlier life without getting into his marriages and children and some more details of his many inventions. It covers his electric voting machine and light bulb and references his 1,093 patents. All in all, a good “light” book of Thomas. I would say this is especially good for younger readers although interesting enough for a lighter read to your older elementary as well.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too simplified to be useful. This is barely a smackerel. Not actually bad, this just doesn't even really hint at the complexities of Edison. It doesn't really tell you who he was, even as a boy. Not a bad book though. But my memories of my childhood Edison biography was a lot better (but perhaps not an accurate memory).

[Stephanie Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like reading about Thomas Edison. This great picture book focuses mostly on his life leading up to his 1000+ inventions. Would be a good book to use in the classroom when talking about Thomas Edison and has a theme of not giving up.

[Clivemichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, excellent story, great message

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good words, terrible pictures.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An introduction to Edison for children. A partial biography that leaves out much. Left my daughter with more questions than answers.

[Cala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Edison's biography for children. Read aloud to my 6 y.o. son. He liked it. It was easy to read aloud and contains a good amount of information without being overwhelming or too dense.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

An early elementary biography of Thomas Edison from his early years to a few of his most famous inventions like the light bulb.

[Casey Mcguire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Main Character: Thomas Edison
Setting: The setting takes place in a variety of places, from the farm Edison grew up on to the city of Boston.

Grade/Interest Level: Primary
Reading Level: AD940L
Genre: Biography, Picture Book

Summary:

A Wizard from the Start, written by Don Brown, gives a biography of Thomas Edison that focuses mostly on Thomas's childhood growing up. As a young boy, Thomas worked on the farm with his father and was pulled out of school by his mother because she didn't like the way his teacher spoke about him. Once Thomas learned to read he became fascinated with books and different science experiments. As he grew older he was able to work on a train route providing customers with newspapers, magazines, candy and cigars. During this time he continued reading all that he could and even made his own newspaper, "The Herald", which had a fan base of several hundred readers. As time went on, Thomas Edison grew bored of the business focus that his father had and became interested in becoming a telegraph operator. At the young age of 16 Edison traveled all around the country operating telegraphs, but found his free time trying to come up with inventions. At the age of 22, Edison had his first patented invention and although it flopped he became fascinated with creating more. By the time Edison passed away, he had 1,093 inventions under his name.

Classroom Use:

I enjoyed this book because it gives a biography of an important figure, but it's geared towards children with it's illustrations, simple language, and emphasis on Edison's childhood. This would be a great book for a child to use if we did a unit on biographies and someone wanted to focus on Thomas Edison. The message of "working hard" is also huge in this book, which could be a focus of this story even if a biography of Edison wasn't done.

[Taylor Horvat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: I really liked this book because of how encouraging it is. This is a great story about Thomas Edison and his inventions. I especially liked it because it talked a lot about his childhood. This is the age range that the audience of this book will be, which I think makes this an inspiring book for elementary aged students. Another reason I really enjoyed this book and think it would be great for students is that it touched on the fact that Edison was not always the brightest student, but he still worked hard and became one of the most important inventors.


Purpose & Use in the Classroom: I think book would be perfect for a read aloud at the beginning of a unit where students have to invent something for a science fair. Having to invent something from nowhere can seem like a daunting tasks for an elementary school student, but after hearing about the life of Thomas Edison from "A Wizard From the Start", students will be motivated and inspired to not give up. This biography showed that Thomas worked hard and was very dedicated, which is how the teacher will want his/her students to be going into a big project like an invention. Students would really enjoy this book because it is an inspiring and true story of a great inventor.

Other: This book includes quotes from Thomas Edison which really enriches this biography because it gives students a connection and a closer peek at what the person in the biography was really like by listening to things that he actually said. I really like how this book did this and think it sets this book by Don Brown apart.

[Megan McKenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: Overall, an inspiring and informational story about the life of Thomas Edison. The story tells about Tom's life from the time he is small into a great inventor. The story includes actual quotes from Thomas himself and those close to him which is a nice touch. The illustrations are almost cartoon-like, keeping interest and fun in the story for children.

Purpose: This would be a good, inspiring book to use when learning about inventions or for children's personal enjoyment. It would be good to include in the reading center for children's personal reading time. You could in some ways tie this story into science activities. I like that the story depicts Edison as a determined and innovative man, which children can find inspiration in. It would be good to use this story after talking about common inventions as most children will learn that the lightbulb was created by Edison, but it would be nice to include this story to show that he did much more. This book may not be used in a typical lesson that the majority of elementary students do, but would be a great addition to a project-based lesson or if a child has a particular interest in such inventors, etc.

Other: The back of the book includes an author's note/bibliography on Thomas Edison with sources. This book may be considered a "storyography" by some, a newer style of bibliography that presents information on a person in a story-like way.

[Angela Ricci]

"A Wizard form the Start: The Incredible Boyhood and Amazing Inventions of Thomas Edison" is the life story of the incredible Thomas Edison. In this entertaining, easily readable book, readers learn about Edison's childhood, life, family, and his inventions. This book highlights the hardships and challenges Edison faced on his journey of becoming a famous inventor. In the story readers watch him grow from a geeky child to an incredible mastermind who had a huge impact on the development of man kind. One thing that i enjoyed about the book is that it is an easy read. Many biographies, especially on a science topic like this is hard to read and very fact filled. This had what was important and was read like a story. I think since the book travels from when he was younger into an adult it can be used to face the issue of students believing in themselves and believing that when they put their mind to something they can do and be anything they want. I would recommend using this book in science as well as literacy.

[Laura]

Brown, Don. A Wizard form the Start: The Incredible Boyhood and Amazing Inventions of Thomas Edison. (2010)

Annotation: From a young age Tomas Edison liked to stay busy and have pklany of things to do. When Tom found an interest in something like the telegraph, he would work at it until he became an expert. Later when Tom moved to Boston, he put away his interst in telegraphs to become a full time inventor.

Themes: Inventions, love of reading, family, goals

Ways to use with children: You can use this book to study Thomas Edison or other inventors. You could also research the many inventions that Thomas Edison invented.

Recommended age:6- 13

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book doesn't include a lot of substance about Edison's inventions as it's more a biography of Thomas Edison including the teacher who told his mother he was "addled" before she pulled him out of school and told HIM he was ridiculous before she home-schooled him. But of course, my favorite two-page spread was when he found the time to sit in the public library and read the books shelf by shelf as he waited for the return train back home when he started working selling stuff on trains.

It's a very basic story that highlights the magic of his achievements without digging to deep. A good introductory book about him.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very impressed by this book, though I wasn't overly impressed with its subject. True, he was a hard worker and very dedicated to his cause, but at the same time it seems that he lacked the interpersonal skills that would have made him a tolerable companion in life. It doesn't take anything from his accomplishments, or the book for that matter, but it does give a reader something to be slightly disappointed about in Edison. However, this book has none of these flaws. It's wonderful, beginning to the end.

[Karissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a picture book of Edison’s life and inventions, and has great illustrations. Some of Edison’s quotes are mentioned throughout the book. It would be great to use with students if it did not say that Edison invented the light bulb, since did not invent it, but rather he perfected it. This could be addressed with students in why it is important to research and include accurate, quality information.

[Cassidy Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wizard From The Start is a short biography about Thomas Edison, who created the light bulb. This book takes the reader through Edison's life and how he approached the invention of things. He was curious, and that got him somewhere in life. This book would be great to teach children the importance of being curious, and never stopping even when you think you've reached your goal, there's always more to discover. Best suited for 1st-5th

[Diana Hanke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. Don Brown does a nice job creating picture book biographies for young children. This one follows the childhood of Thomas Edison. It stresses how reading paved the way for his successful career as an inventor. Don Brown's biographies have appeal for elementary age students grades K - 5.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great description of his childhood as promised by the cover ... but not much more. Liked the illustrations.


And EGADS. Reading the author's note at the end? Trying to compete with Tesla and his AC current Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant?


Wish I didn't know that. Before today I'd always thought of him as such a creative, hard-working innovator. Now I'm also going to remember that. :[

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and gave a great insight to the life of Thomas Edison. The author writes the story in a very kid friendly way. This book gives great motivation for students who may have been told they won't do anything great. Thomas Edison is proof any one can do what they put their mind too

[Teresa Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great biography of Edison. Nice picture book format with watercolor paintings. It showed that Edison was not a great student in school but did not let that stop him from going on to do many great things.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the childhood of Thomas Edison! Definitely intended for children in lower grades but fascinating information about the experiences and interests he had as a child and young man that led to his great inventions as an adult!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story about Thomas Edison. The pictures were sort of loose and free formed, which gave the whole book a more casual feel (biographies sometimes feel so stuffy to me). They made me think of Thomas Edison as a real person.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great children's biography! How can this man not be inspiring, especially for young people?! He was an entrepreneur at such a young age, he wasn't afraid to experiment, he read and read and read, and I appreciate that he was schooled at home.

[Paul Farbman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt that the author presented his biography of Edison in a way that children would admire. Much of the story centers around Edison's life as a child and young man. The direct quotes by Edison used in the story made the book especially authentic.

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look into the life of Thomas Edison and how his curiosity led him to invent or improve many things. I liked that he seemed practical and was obviously a hard working man. I'm glad that his rivalry with Nikolas Tesla was mentioned (in the back matter).

[Colleen McCormack · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read for those just getting into biographies and non fiction. I learned a few things I didn't know about Thomas Edison and how he became the historic figure he is today. I think many students would enjoy this one!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it interesting to read about the childhood of famous people. Mr. Edison was no exception; it was an interesting story and may be of particular interest to hopeful future inventors.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief "storyography" about Thomas Edison's early life and work. I particularly liked the frequent mention of Edison's love for books and reading as key in his success.