Thomas Edison

April 15, 2013
Grades 1-3 The Beginner Biography series supplies overviews of some of history's most familiar names. The compact books do hit the high points, but vary somewhat in quality due to the different authors and illustrators. Thomas Edison does a solid job of introducing the subjects. Edison is portrayed as the brilliant inventor that he was but also as a businessman, one who was not always successful and underestimated the importance of certain inventions like the kinescope. Sprunger's artwork in both titles has a graphic-novel sensibility that works well with the straightforward text. Very short notes throughout each book add welcome facts to these light treatments.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2013
These biographies for a younger audience present accessible accounts of extraordinary figures from various walks of life. Each relates cursory information about the person's early life, struggles for success, and eventual achievements. Unfortunately, the choppy writing is overly simplistic; the lackluster texts are accompanied by static, amateurish illustrations that fail to provoke much interest in the subjects. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind.

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