Nikola Tesla for Kids: His Life, Ideas, and Inventions, with 21 Activities

by Amy M. O'Quinn

Overview

Finalist for the 2020 AAAS / Subaru SB&F Excellence in Science Book exemplify outstanding and engaging science writing and illustration for young readers

Nikola Tesla was a physicist, electrical engineer, and world-renowned inventor whose accomplishments faded into oblivion after his death in 1943. Some considered this eccentric visionary to be a “mad” scientist, but many of his ideas and inventions that were deemed impossible during his lifetime have since become reality. He is now acknowledged to have invented the radio ahead of Marconi. Tesla was undeniably eccentric and compulsive. Among other things, Tesla developed generators, fluorescent tubes, neon lights, and a small remote-controlled boat. He also helped design the world’s first hydroelectric plant at Niagara Falls. 
Nikola Tesla for Kids is the story of Nikola Tesla’s life and ideas, complete with a time line, 21 hands-on activities, and additional resources to better understand his many accomplishments.Kids will:
 

• Construct an electric circuit
• Explore Tesla's birthplace online
• Investigate the nature of electromagnetic waves
• Mix up batch of fluorescent slime
• "Visit" the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition 
• Build a soda bottle submarine
• And more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780912777214
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	07/09/2019
Series:	Chicago Review Press For Kids Series , #72
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	988,502
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	1210L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Amy M. O’Quinn is a former teacher and the author of Marie Curie for Kids. She is also a freelance educational writer who has contributed to Jack and Jill, Learning Through History, Guideposts for Kids, Highlights for Children, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and Homeschooling Today. 

Editorial Reviews

"...a winning tribute to a scientific dreamer who was both a man of his times and, often, well ahead of them.”  —Kirkus Reviews


“ ...a natural fit for any school library or classroom.” —Foreword Reviews


"It's very highly recommended." —Midwest Book Review


“This is a definite 5 star book. Perfect for book reports, STEM classes, and independent reading.” —Devoted Mommy of 3


“A useful addition to a library serving middle grade students who enjoy biographies, science, and scientific activities.” —School Library Journal Online


"Offered so much in terms of science and STEM learning." —Inspired by Savannah


"An outstanding supplement to school materials for older kids." —Rhapsody in Books


"Amy M. O’Quinn, who crafted a spectacular nonfiction book on Marie Curie, brings her impeccable research skills to a biography of inventor Nikola Tesla. Both the brilliant, eccentric man the fields in which he worked are complex, but O’Quinn brings them to life through photographs, fascinating drawings, and a host of resources, including experiments young inventors can try on their own. While this is a perfect choice for elementary and middle school readers who wish to go beyond a picture book biography, adults whose knowledge of Tesla is confined to spotting a shiny new car on the highway will find much to appreciate in this well-crafted, timely portrait. Highly recommended." —Deborah Hopkinson, award-winning author of Who Was Charles Darwin?, The Great Trouble, and more

From the Publisher

07/26/2019

Gr 5–8-Given the popularity of the electric cars named after him, this biography about Tesla is a timely addition to the "For Kids" series. Throughout seven chapters, O'Quinn provides a comprehensive sketch of Tesla's life including his childhood in Croatia, schooling in Europe, immigration to the States, and subsequent career. The author presents a balanced view of both Tesla's genius and ingenuity and his struggles with mental health and finances. Side bars that explain background information about events and people pivotal to the time period and topic will help readers gain necessary context. The book's many images depict examples of Tesla's inventions, period-appropriate pictures of places mentioned, and Tesla himself. Although the text lends itself to the older end of middle grade students, the featured activities are accessible and suitable for younger readers. Within the 21 activities, readers will find a variety of opportunities ranging from scientific, such as "solar oven s'mores," to research and writing, such as a virtual visit to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The activities can generally be accomplished with standard household items and have clear directions to ensure success. VERDICT A useful addition to a library serving middle grade students who enjoy biographies, science, and scientific activities.-Erica Thorsen, Albemarle High School, VA

School Library Journal

2019-04-14
A searching portrait of the troubled, visionary Serbian-American inventor, with simple hands-on projects that touch on his life and interests.

O'Quinn describes in some detail the achievements for which Tesla is best remembered—from the Tesla coil and the practical generation of AC electricity to an advanced type of turbine—as well as his conflicts with Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi. She promotes him as both a pacifist (notwithstanding his visions of particle-beam superweapons) and a conservationist whose experiments with wireless power transmission were spurred at least in part by environmental concerns. Without psychologizing she also notes his secretive nature, his tendencies to live beyond his means and to con investors, his now-disturbing eugenics theories, and his nomadic last years as a reclusive urban pigeon feeder. Period photos and patent drawings depict the hawk-nosed inventor, his work, his rivals, and his friends, and there are further resources aplenty at the end for curious or tantalized readers. Young experimenters hoping to fire up megavolt blasts of sparks or light bulbs held in their bare hands as Tesla did will be disappointed by the inserted projects, which begin with generating static electricity on a balloon and go on to demonstrations of magnetic fields and electromagnetism, writing an autobiography, and suchlike depressingly nonhazardous activities.

Overall, a winning tribute to a scientific dreamer who was both a man of his times and, often, well ahead of them. (index, timeline, endnotes) (Biography. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews