The Reinvention of Edison Thomas
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781590789513 |
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| Publisher: | Highlights |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2012 |
| Pages: | 192 |
| Sales rank: | 186,147 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.40(d) |
| Lexile: | 780L (what's this?) |
| Age Range: | 8 - 12 Years |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Reinvention of Edison Thomas
4 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
7 reviews.
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[B]The Reinvention of Edison Thomas [/B]by Jacqueline HoutmanThere seems to be a trend of books written from the point of view of autistic boys. This one is about an autistic middle-school boy, Edison, who is really into inventing gadgets. As smart as he is about mechanics, he has no social skills and has trouble reading emotions on other's faces. He is clueless that the school bully has targeted him, but thinks the boy is actually being friendly. Edison falls for his pranks until a brainy geek befriends him and sets him straight about the bully. Despite his tactlessness, Edison makes two other friends who seem to appreciate his quirkiness and in the end, he finally recognizes what he has and appreciates his friends. This book was a quick, fun read. It seemed total not based on reality--more like a fairy tale of how we would like middle-schoolers to act toward kids that are different--but it is an enjoyable dream. And who knows, maybe it will inspire some middle-schoolers to think differently about those students who don't fit in.
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Middle school student Eddy Thomas loves science and inventing, but has trouble with people. Finally he meets some friends who appreciate his abilities and respect his unique view of the world. With their help can he rethink his definition of success?
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When Eddy doesn't win the science fair he is astounded. How could he not have won? Eddy suffers from autism and to some he seems very strange. He has trouble in crowds and with loud noises. He is socially out of touch. What I mean is when the school bully picks on him he doesn't understand he is being picked on. With a head full of scientific facts he tends to ignore those who are interested in the things he is interested in and trying to be a true friend. It takes one persistent person to show Eddy who his true friends are, what friendship is and how to stand up to Mitch the bully. He learns that sometimes change is good. I found this book to be very realistic. As a middle school teacher I run across people like Mitch and Edison. It has been my pleasure to work the few autistic kids that have crossed my path. They have taught me so much. I think this should be required reading for all teachers since so many of them are clueless about kids like Eddy and don't really try to figure them out.
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Eddy is a kid with autism who is super-smart, but has trouble understanding other people. It makes it hard for him to make friends. At first Eddy didn’t want to be associated with the name Thomas Edison (Eddy’s name is Edison Thomas) but after doing a school research project on Edison, Eddy figures out they have a lot in common. Eddy is a genius and can invent all sorts of things from scraps of machines he finds. Eddy enters the school science fair and is sure he will win, but he comes in third. After he was disappointed at the science fair, sticky notes with mean messages like “GEEK” and “NERD” appear on his locker. Someone also put a mean sign on his back during the science fair. Eddy is being bullied and he doesn’t know who to call a friend anymore. Justin, who came in 2nd at the science fair tells Eddy that the boy Eddy thinks of as a friend, Mitch, is the one leaving the mean messages and bullying him. Eddy doesn’t know who to trust and if Mitch is the one being a bully, Eddy wonders if he can have friends.
One of the reasons I really like this book is that it is told from the POV of a kid with autism. I thought the character of Eddy was very believable and gave me some information of how a person with autism thinks. I like how the book points out that Eddy is super-smart and shows that just because someone has a “learning disability”, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be geniuses. It also shows how Eddy is very kind and a good person with awesome inventing abilities. I am also glad Eddy finds out who his true friends are. I really like the added RAMs (Random Access Memory [Of Edison Thomas]) that are here and there in the book. They are little facts that pop up here and there to show some of the things Eddy is thinking. I learned some interesting stuff from them (like that platypuses are poisonous). I think books like this one are very important for kids to read.
**NOTE - I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
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I really enjoyed reading The Reinvention of Edison Thomas and only wish that I'd had books like this to read when I was growing up. I thought Eddy was well depicted as a nerdy, socially awkward kid who nevertheless wants to be liked and respected, and I appreciated his random access memory facts; all my life I've wondered if there was a term to describe the smell of rain on soil, and thanks to Eddy I now know that there is: 'petrichor'. The friends Eddy ends up making were believable as well as the lessons Eddy learns, and the ending was thoroughly satisfying without being trite or preachy. This is a book well worth buying and passing on.
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I really liked the book. It has a really good lesson of choosing your friends wisely and standing up for yourself. I like how he makes different inventions that help other people, but from scratch, using different pieces every time. I am in middle school and I like to read realistic fiction books so this is a great choice.
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I wouldnt reccommend this book to anyone. I am a 7th grader reading this book by force of teacher. I dont blame my teacher but i just cant wait to be done with it. If i could give this book stars in negative i would. Just leave it on the shelf!!!!!!
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