Howard Goldsmith

Very minor collection of horror stories aimed at (I would say) 12-year olds. My 8-year old daughter read it in about an hour and a half and liked the last story, about a vampire, the best. So I figured I could read it myself, especially since it was Halloween. All seven stories are told from the point of view of an adolescent, mostly boys, but not always. Things are just a little too linear and obvious in each story, but they aren't without some merit and will certainly serve the purpose if show more you're looking for horror stories suitable for an impressionable child who is an avid reader. I would probably pick "The Shadow" as my favorite, for a few genuine moments of creepiness. show less

This book was pretty useless if you want to learn anything about Thomas Edison actually inventing. This book is more about what caused him to first be able to work a telegraph that led to all his other inventions. The feature about this book that I found to be useful was a timeline of major events and inventions in the back of the book. While it was interesting to learn what started Edison on the telegraph, this book really doesn’t teach anything about Edison’s actual inventions, which show more is why I ranked it 2 out of 5. show less

Thomas was a curious little boy who found a map with a Native American burial mound marked on it. His father told him that he should never go to that place. Thomas told his friends about the map and the told him that the woods were haunted. Neither of them claiming to be afraid, dared the other to visit the woods. That night they went to the mound. All of a sudden the mound started to rise up and ghosts started coming. While hiding behind a bush Thomas saw the Indian ghosts on horseback show more praying. But he was spotted. The story has a very good ending that left Thomas learning the ways of his new friends.
This book was personally not one of my favorites. But I'm sure small children will love this cute little book about Thomas and ghosts.
Classroom extension:
1 have students write how they would feel if they were in the woods and saw ghosts
2. have the student reenact the story in their own words. show less

Basically cliff notes of the adventures of tom sawyer. Easy reader. Mx really liked this one and even enjoyed the facts list about Mark Twain at the end of the book from as young as 3. Ms hasn't grown into this one yet.