National Geographic Kids Biographies: Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison by Barbara Kramer. National Geographic Kids, 2014, 32 pages.

Reading Level: Early reader, leveled reader
Maturity Level: 2 (ages 4-8) and up

National Geographic Kids has a series of biographies about well-known significant figures that is nicely suited to early readers. Each book contains a variety of information and good photographs about the individual within his or her historical context. The readers have short chapters, each with a timeline, key facts, and highlighted quotations and vocabulary, all helpful for building reading confidence. The volume on Thomas Edison is a good introduction to a fascinating man who was ambitious and successful, explaining who he was and why he mattered so much. Other volumes in the series (which I have not personally seen) include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Graham Bell, Anne Frank, Amelia Earhart, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Literary Quality: 3 (out of 5)
Worldview: 3 (out of 5)

Cautions: none
Audience: parents, educators, children (0-4), children (4-8)
Recommended use: independent reading choice, curriculum tie-in, science enrichment