Eddy Thomas can read a college physics book, but he can't read the emotions on the faces of his classmates at Drayton Middle School. He can spend hours tinkering with an invention, but he can't stand more than a few minutes in a noisy crowd, like the crowd at the science fair, which Eddy fails to win. When the local school crossing guard is laid off, Eddy is haunted by thoughts of the potentially disastrous consequences and invents a traffic-calming device, using parts he has scavenged from discarded machines. Eddy also discovers new friends, who appreciate his abilities and respect his unique view of the world. They help Eddy realize that his "friend" Mitch is the person behind the progressively more distressing things that happed to Eddy. By trusting his real friends and accepting their help, Eddy uses his talents to help others and rethinks his purely mechanical definition of success in this Tofte/Wright Children's Literature Award winner.

Presents a biography of the tireless Thomas Edison, illustrated with many photos of his life and inventions.

Presents the life of the American inventor, discussing his childhood, first work as a telegrapher, early inventions, and his later celebrity as the creator of the lightbulb and the phonograph.

An introduction to the life of Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb, the phonograph, and moving pictures.

"This book traces the life of Thomas Edison, from his early childhood and education through his sources of inspiration and challenges faced, early successes, and the many inventions for which he is best known. A timeline at the end of the book summarizeskey milestones and achievements of Edison's life."--

This book develops a systematic approach to the role of failure in innovation, using the laboratory notebooks of America's most successful inventor, Thomas Edison. It argues that Edison's active pursuit of failure and innovative uses of failure as a tool were crucial to his success. From this the author argues that not only should we expect innovations to fail but that there are good reasons to want them to fail. Using Edison's laboratory notebooks, written as he worked and before he knew the outcome we see the many false starts, wrong directions and failures that he worked through on his way to producing revolutionary inventions. While Edison's strengths in exploiting failure made him the icon of American inventors, they could also be liabilities when he moved from one field to another. Not only is this book of value to readers with an interest in the history of technology and American invention, its insights are important to those who seek to innovate and to those who employ and finance them.

This nonfiction reader shines a light on Thomas Edison and his greatest invention—the lightbulb! As a curious child who was always asking questions, it's no wonder Thomas Edison grew up to become a famous, prolific inventor. This easy-to-read nonfiction story follows Edison from his time in school to his career as a full-time inventor. While it focuses on his groundbreaking creation of the lightbulb, this illuminating account also details other important innovations of his, like the phonograph and the microphone. Edison's discoveries will fascinate and inspire all curious young minds!