Margaret Davidson (1) (1936–)

A simplistic hagiography of Thomas Edison that is meant to inspire children instead of challenging them with his all too human defects.

As far as research goes, the author seems to belong to the school of thought that says, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: [Prologue] -- Tom's First Experiment -- No More School -- Tom Goes to Work -- An Accident! -- How Tom Became a Telegraph Operator -- A Man's Job -- The Invention Factory -- Wood and Metal Talk! -- show more Tom's Electric Light -- Good-by to Menlo Park -- The Secret of Room 5 -- The Big Fire -- The End -- [Epilogue] show less

A simplified and old-fashioned biography of George Washington that focuses on his military exploits and glosses over the fact that he owned slaves in a single sentence.

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Contents: "Get Off My Land" -- "Stop!" -- "I Heard the Bullets Whistle" -- The Quiet Years -- "Who Is That Man in Uniform?" -- "Are You the Men I Am to Defend America With?" -- The Old Fox -- The Old Fox Plays a Trick -- "Your Country Needs You" -- A Place Called Valley Forge -- "It Is Done – Well Done" -- The show more Adventure He Did Not Want -- "Our Dancing Days Are Over" -- Good-bye show less

I like dolphins, so that's why I don't like this book. It was written in an era when captivity, training, experimentation, and other abuses were seen as good and admirable. Ugh.

Oh, and if you or your child is sensitive to such things, a couple of the dolphins die, perhaps even killed by humans.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:
• The story of Pelorus Jack, the faithful dolphin
• The story of Opo, the dolphin who loved people
• The story of Spray, the first dolphin born in a tank
• The story of show more Pauline, the dolphin who almost died of loneliness
• The story of Bimbo, the big bully
• The story of Flippy, the first trained dolphin
• The story of Doris and Buzz, the dolphins who talked to each other
• The story of Zippy, the blindfolded dolphin
• The story of Tuffy, the dolphin who was trained to save lives show less

I really enjoyed this book because it pushes readers to broaden their perspectives and it talked about interesting people. The story of Hellen Keller is truly amazing because of her courage, determination and help from her teacher, Annie Sullivan. This biography tells the story of Hellen Keller’s life from the day she was born up until she passed away at the age of eighty seven. Since Hellen became blind and deaf as an infant, she was forced to learn how to communicate through reading show more braille and using sign language with her hands. Annie Sullivan began teaching Hellen how to communicate when Hellen was only seven years old. Each year, they accomplished something new, and Hellen wanted to only learn more about the world around her. Annie took Hellen on walks, to the circus and even to Perkins Institute, a school for the blind. Hellen Keller was determined to go to college, and soon became a popular name nationwide. She spent her time visiting famous people, like the president, and visiting wounded soldiers that became blind or deaf as a result from the war. Hellen also made public speeches that raised awareness about her disabilities and how she learned to accept them. Hellen Keller’s words were very detailed throughout the book. For instance, when she talked about the deaf she said, “They are surrounded by silence-never to be broken by a word or a song or a sigh of a breeze.” Hellen Keller’s story can push readers to think about people living with disabilities. Even though Hellen’s life was not easy, she was always eager to learn something new each day.
I feel that the main idea of this biography is too never stop trying. Hellen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, was able to learn about the world around her, and experience a life filled with opportunities and success. Not only is Hellen a brave person, she is also very inspirational; she said, “I who am blind can only give one hint to you who can see. Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would go blind. Do the same with all your other senses. Hear the song of a bird as if tomorrow you would go deaf. Touch everything as if tomorrow you never be able to touch anything again. Smell the flowers, taste every bit of food as if tomorrow you would never smell or taste again.” In addition, I like how this book had the Braille alphabet on its back cover, and also included photographs of Hellen Keller and Annie Sullivan. show less