Heroes of History Thomas Edison: Inspiration and Hard Work from YWAM Publishing. We had read some of their books in the past, and they've always had a way of bringing biographies to life in a way that was interesting to my whole family. Of course, these are from YWAM, so they also have a Christian/faith perspective that other biographies might not explore.
Heroes of History: Thomas Edison Book Review
Like all of the books in the series, this book sought to tell the tale of an important figure, in this case Edison. It explores his early days and his personal struggles, as well as his accomplishments. This book would make an excellent read-aloud for families who want to read together. (I always find the YWAM Publishing books to hold my interest as an adult!)
There is an accompanying study guide, as well, that covers the book contents in a more formal classroom way. The guide includes more ideas than what can reasonably be done in a unit study (and the guide admits that), so you can pick and choose what works for your students. The guide includes:
- Quotes
- Comprehension questions
- Display ideas
- Vocab
- Essay ideas
- Project ideas
- Ways to integrate the study into other subject areas (science, history, art)
A student perspective
Here's what my 14-year-old had to say about reading this book independently this past week:
"I did not know that he was a telegrapher or that he was a cabin boy for a train either. I found those to be very interesting because most people want to get straight to the good and exciting stuff. But when you make a biography I think at least in my opinion that more information on the people's early lives is better but this book did it in a way that impressed me.
Because of how short the book was I thought it was gonna be a longer one which is very common. It skipped past long stretches of time that he was doing the same thing but focused largely on his inventions which I think was the right direction. That way we know the impact he had on the world. I didn’t know that he made gold tickers which I think was cool."
Review summary:
My son sat and read this book every chance he could get. As a child who is really into science and engineering, this was a good pick for him, but all kids with an interest in history, good storytelling, and personal struggles being overcome would enjoy it! The digital study guides add a nice touch to families who want to explore themes further or use it in a more formal capacity in their homeschool.
Learn more:
Find out more about the over 100 titles in the series featuring fascinating people from history on their website. You can also find them at their social links:
Learn what other parent reviewers had to say here!
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