The Reinvention of Edison Thomas
Hardcover
(Front Street Books)
ISBN:978-1590787083
Paperback
(Astra Young Readers)
ISBN:978-1590789513
Eddy Thomas can read a college physics book but can't read emotions on faces of his classmates. He can spend hours tinkering with inventions but can't spend more than a few minutes in crowds.
When the local school crossing guard is laid off, he worries about inattentive drivers injuring neighborhood kids. Eddy invents a traffic signal using parts he has scavenged from discarded machines. When his invention fails, he needs to go outside his comfort zone and find a another solution. Along the way, Eddy discovers new friends, who help him realize that his childhood "friend" Mitch is really just a bully. As he grows to better understand the world around him, Eddy gains courage to face the bully and moves beyond a purely mechanical definition of success.
Honors for The Reinvention of Edison Thomas
- Tofte/Wright Award for Children’s Literature
- CCBC Choices 2011
- Read On Wisconsin! Featured December 2010 Middle School Book
- Cited for outstanding achievement in children’s literature by the Wisconsin Library Association
- Kansas State Reading Circle 2011
- Charlotte Award (NYSRA) Suggested Reading List 2012 Intermediate
- Charlie May Simon Children’s Book Award Reading List 2012-21013 (Arkansas)
- Garden State Children’s Book Award Reading List 2013 (New Jersey)