Thursday, August 5, 2021

103. A Life Electric


A Life Electric: The Story of Nikola Tesla. Azadeh Westergaard. 2021. 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence:

At the stroke of midnight on July 10, 1856, thunder clapped.
Lightning flashed.
And a baby was born.
"He'll be a child of the storm," his nurse said.
"No," his mother replied, "A child of light."
She did not know that her son, Nikola, would grow up to be both:
one of the most important electrical inventors in the world--
then and now.


Premise/plot: A Life Electric is a picture book biography of Nikola Tesla written in verse.

My thoughts: I really liked this picture book biography. I thought the verse was good. The author pulled in lots of interesting--fascinating--facts and tidbits. For example, while I knew some of his work with electricity, I did not know he was a pigeon lover. I knew that he had plenty of struggles throughout his life--but I didn't realize the depths of his struggles.

I found the illustrations to be unique, old-fashioned, dare I say charming? There's something very old-school vintage about them. If you are drawn to that, then these illustrations may draw you further into the text. Even if you're not--if that artistic style isn't your cup of tea--the text is compelling.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers

No comments: