Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because it is a nice biography-type nonfiction book about one of my favorite historical inventors.
Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives
Written and illustrated by Gene Barretta
36 pages – ages 5+
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on July 17, 2012
Theme- Not giving up/Biography
Opening and Synopsis- Opening Lines: “Have you ever thought about inventing something of your own? You’re never too young to try.
Thomas Alva Edison began experimenting when he was just a boy. That’s right. It was the beginning of a life dedicated to improving the world with his brilliant ideas and inventions.”
Synopsis from GoodReads: “
What I Thought- I really liked how Mr. Barretta set this book up. Mr. Barretta focuses on things we have in the present day, and how they were inspired by Edison’s inventions. He explains how Edison worked, and how he failed several times. The book shows how through failure, reworking, and ingenuity, Edison succeeded. The message of failure is something I hear a lot about and I think it’s good for kids to hear how many times someone fails before they succeed. The illustrations share information and inject a bit of humor throughout the book. Mr. Barretta has created a nice biography picture book that is instructional, entertaining and inspiring.
Activities and Resources- Talk with your kids/students about how failure can create success. Did you know James Dyson failed over 5000 times before inventing his current version of his vacuum cleaner?!? Here is a cool video from him about failure.
You can virtually visit Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home in Charlottesville, Virginia. Click HERE to learn more about Jefferson and Monticello.
To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog HERE!