Cover Image: Edison

Edison

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Member Reviews

This short children's chapter book was fantastic! The illustrations were breathtaking! We will definitely be rereading again! 

I read this to my kids and they loved it! I enjoyed how the book also had a science element to it so it felt like it had more substance than some children's books. 

Overall, it was just an excellent laid out story with an engaging plot, beautiful pictures and an enjoyable read!
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This was a delightful read for both child and adult!

I read Edison to my 4 year old son over our short read aloud time in about 2 days. It is an incredibly beautiful picture book - with intricate and adorable illustrations of the mice and their world. The story is longer than a typical childs picture book - which is perfect for reading aloud to a younger child or for an older reader to enjoy on their own.

My son is a mouse-story-lover, who has enjoyed the adventures of Stuart Little and Ralph S. Mouse, and Edison was no exception! He has held captive through the story, and loved the bits of history interjected in it's pages.

The history excerpts at the back were a welcome surprise and helped answer the questions of my inquisitive pre-schooler.

I would highly recommend this title for personal and school libraries, as it would appeal to many children and educators alike!
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There are so many things to love about this book. To start off, I loved how the story was told by alternating the text and the illustrations. It was genius to begin each chapter with words, then move to the next part of the plot with a few illustrations, all without disturbing the flow of the journey between the two mice. Torben Kuhlmann’s works of art throughout this book are not just beautiful, but mesmerizing. I found myself staring in awe at each piece of art and blueprint, trying to catch every detail as the mice made their way to the bottom of the sea in search of a priceless family treasure.

The story itself was captivating as well. Within the first few pages, I immediately was hooked and wanted to know what happened next. The science involved in inventing the submarine, the critical thinking, and the trial and error the two mice endured along the way are great lessons to show young readers that not all projects are perfect in the beginning, but if persevered will have great outcomes.
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Firstly, the illustrations in this book are gorgeous, of excellent quality, and highly detailed. Secondly, I love that there exists a passionate engineer-minded artist who wants to introduce these scientific ideas to kids in a children's book. The story is decent for a children's story, obviously enhanced by the illustrations. However, the word choice and lack of complexity in the syntax leaves something to be desired. It feels quite casual, as if the author didn't think a child could understand a higher level of vocabulary or less obvious conversation. I would rather a parent participate in the book with the child to help them understand (especially, again, with the help of those fantastic illustrations) than for the language and vocabulary to be dumbed down. I write this from the perspective of an elementary English learner teacher. Overall, I would like to have this book on my daughter's shelf because of the science and the illustrations, but I would probably ad lib some more interesting dialogue and vocab.
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(I received this title free as an e-book from NetGalley, but all opinions in this review are my own.) 

Even though I am not a parent, I do have many nieces and nephews that I always try to share my love of reading with by gifting them books. When I saw the cover of Edison I was blown away by the exquisite detail of the image. I thought that if a book looked this good the story had to be just as amazing; and I was right. Edison’s story takes you on a journey and as you read it, you find yourself eager to discover what the hidden treasure is.    
      
Torben Kuhlman's artwork is truly breathtaking. His exquisite attention to detail makes the scenes feel real enough, but yet with his timelessly old-fashioned settings you are taken back in time. This book is not just a book to read to your children but is also a collection of art that is conversation-worthy.

I especially loved how there is history tied with this story and at the end of the book you can read more about the history behind the creative mouse story. I think this book would be great for all ages- young or old- there is something for everyone to enjoy.
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Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure by Torben Kuhlmann is a short and sweet children’s chapter book that utterly captured my heart. It’s illustrations are fascinatingly intricate and beautiful while the story the book tells was quite impressive.. The book gets off to a curious start, one that left me intrigued and slightly worried. Due to the shortness of the book, I had wondered how the author would include a story interesting enough to keep my attention and not feel much to short of a read. To my immense pleasure, Kuhlmann managed to develop a brilliant tale for young readers that not only is fun to read but accomplishes something a lot of fiction and children’s reading material doesn’t often do.

The inclusion of science along the journey of the two main characters, an old Professor mouse and a young mouse called Pete, to find out what had happened to Pete’s ancestor and the treasure he had mentioned having in his farewell letter to his family. The plot is cute and to the point, leading into the author’s own personal research on a particular important moment in history and the truth behind it, which a great many kids wouldn’t know about just yet. Often times in school, kids are taught names and the accomplishments those names are related to, but not a great lot about the history behind it. Ironically enough, I recall a little about the lesson this book cites in particular as it is taught to young children due to my role as an educator and I was thoroughly impressed with how the author is informative about such an important piece of history in a way that school sometimes, is not.

This is a great book to read your kids and a great way to get them interested in science, so long as you continue the conversation further after finishing the story. It’s not the most intricate plot or anything like that, and often the illustrations take over and tell the story at times—which, admittedly, I enjoyed immensely but can understand how some others might not—but it truly is a brilliantly creative tale that introduces knowledge about historical inventions that are wonderful for young children to be exposed to.
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* Review copy provided by Netgalley *

After my enjoyment and appreciation of "Armstrong" I had high hopes for this one.  I was not disappointed.

Edison has an adventurous story combined with glorious artwork sure to delight young readers. 

The story begins in a bookstore, where a group of mice gather for the University of Mice.  

"Here any inquisitive mouse could learn everything there was to know about the history of mice: mice who had traveled the world, mice who had made great discoveries, and also the achievements of people."  Kind of them to throw us in there too, don't ya think?

As the story continues observant readers will pick up clues letting us know that the "elderly, grey-furred, mouse professor whose white whiskers formed a rather messy mustache all around his nose" is the same adventurous mouse we met in "Armstrong", years later.

A young mouse named Pete comes to the professor for help, you see he is looking for the treasure of an ancestor who sailed across the Atlantic and was never heard from again.

Pete and the professor research this ancestor and discover the ship he'd traveled in had sunk in the ocean!  Does this deter our treasure hunters? Not even a little bit.

So, they plot, and plan, and experiment, and eventually build a mouse version of a submarine, as well as finding a way to get to the exact spot of the shipwreck.

You'll need to read the book to learn how this all ties in to Thomas Edison, because it does.

The art in this book is absolutely gorgeous.  The story is one that would either need to be read by an adult, or for independent readers a bit past typical picture book level.

At the end there is information regarding Thomas Edison, other inventors who are lessor known, and historical facts about the invention of the electric light.

This book is absolutely perfect – wonderful artwork, an interesting, engaging and adventurous story, and factual information at the back regarding the human endeavor to invent the lightbulb.

I received a free, expiring, copy of the book from Netgalley.
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ARC  Copy...very Jules Verne in style and adventure type approach which makes it enjoyable to read. The illustrations were very lavish and a sight to behold. It would inspire younglings to be adventurous and inventive themselves.
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(I received this title free as an e-book from NetGalley, but all opinions in this review are my own.)

I was delighted to read Edison by Torben Kuhlmann aloud to my eight year old daughter. We enjoyed it immensely! It tells the story of a mouse named Pete who wants to find the long lost treasure of his ancestor. He enlists the help of an older mouse professor who happens to be a brilliant scientist. Their search for the treasure takes them to the bottom of the ocean and leads them to an important discovery.

As a parent, I loved the focus on  science in the book. They worked together to problem solve and build their own submarine. There aren’t a lot of children’s books where science takes center stage. The science didn’t make it boring at all, though. My daughter couldn’t wait to see what happened next! 

At times I felt there were some gaps in the plot and those gaps had us wondering how Pete and the professor got from place to pace. But overall it has the feel of a very classic, timeless children’s book. 

Of course I couldn’t possibly fail to mention the absolutely gorgeous artwork in Edison. My daughter is a budding artist and was absolutely in awe of the illustrations. This is fantastic book to read aloud to kids or for older kids (maybe 7-10) to read on their own.
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I love the sketches and the illustrations in this book! It is also a cute read with adorable mice that brings a fantasy element into a real topic. I like the length of this book and it will make a great transitional read for younger students.
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Two mice are on an adventure to the bottom of the sea to discover sunken treasure! Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure is a wonderful little tale about two little mice who may have found a missing piece of history, specifically the light bulb. No job is too big for a mouse after all, even building a submarine!

I really enjoyed this book. It was light and fun. The illustrations are gorgeous and put me in mind of illustrated children's books from when I was a kid. I definitely recommend this one to young readers. 3.5/5 stars
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Possibly the Best of the Bunch

This is the third mouse adventure book by Torben Kuhlman, following on his transatlantic flying mouse book and his mouse on the moon book. This time we search for undersea treasure. Make no mistake, these aren't just tales of mice scurrying around in the walls looking for cheese and avoiding the cat. These are gorgeous, clever, stirring tales that are broadly conceived, stunningly executed, and remarkably engaging.

To be fair, the "plots" as such are slight and the text wanders around a bit. In this book Pete and the Professor plan to search for a sunken treasure that was lost by one of Pete's ancestors. Fair enough. The devil and the delight is in the details. Kuhlman has a fascination with inventions, thingies, and odd mechanisms. He has a draftsman's eye and mad drawing skills. These may be the only kids' picture books that feature whimsical schematic drawings. So, you take fanciful mechanisms, adjust them to accommodate the requirements of mousey inventor/adventurers, and launch them into the air, toward the moon, or undersea.

Kuhlman works in watercolors and pen, which allows him to work on a big canvas, yet with exquisite attention to detail. The scenes feel real enough, but are quite fanciful and timelessly old-fashioned in their settings. Perhaps it is that odd combination of realism, period romance and mechanical fancy that make his works so appealing. What would a mouse-made, mouse-size submarine look like? Torben knows. Read this book and you and your child will know too.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
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In this charming story of a young mouse, Pete, pairs up with a mouse professor in an adventure to learn more about Pete's ancestor. Along the way we learn the professor has been to the moon (referencing an earlier Kuhlmann book titled *Armstrong- The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon*) and his lifetime of experiences & vast array of knowledge, along with some good ol' library digging, give them enough information to go forth and find out something even more fascinating than "just a treasure map!" Pete proves to be one very determined guy, perhaps a characteristic in his DNA from the very ancestor they're investigating.

Torben Kuhlman's artwork is truly breathtaking making this book a collection of art that is conversation-worthy. Paired with the sweet story, the beautiful illustrations bring to life yet another "mouse tale" in American history.
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This is an adorable book, apparently part of a series of books about famous mice.

The first book was about a mouse that flew, called <em>Lindberg–The Tale of the flying Mouse. </em>The second book was about the first mouse on the moon (who went along with the American astronauts?). This third book is about the professor, who we find out, was the mouse that walked on the moon.  But this is not his story, but the young mouse, Pete, who is trying to find a treasure of his ancestor, which is on the ocean floor.

Just look at these detailed illustrations. With the bookstore, you can almost smell the must of old used books. Look at the detail in the book covers. These look like cars, in the background and in the scene of the repair shop, of the 1960s, although the boy, in the book shop looks straight out of the 1940s. I don't think I ever saw any kids dressing like that when I was growing up.

And yes, I know this is a fantasy, but I can't wrap my head around when it is supposed to be happening. Did mice land on the moon before humans? Did they do so in the 1950s? Is this story happening in the 1960s?

But, if you can get around all that, this is a sweet story of perseverance, while Pete and the Professor find a way to get to the ship wreck under the sea, and solve the mystery.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-721" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Screen-Shot-2018-07-12-at-10.26.02-PM.png" alt="Edison"  />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-718" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Screen-Shot-2018-07-12-at-9.34.22-PM.png" alt="Edison"  />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-717" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Screen-Shot-2018-07-12-at-9.36.21-PM.png" alt="Edison"  />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-720" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Screen-Shot-2018-07-12-at-9.37.40-PM.png" alt="Edison" />

There is even a bit at the end of the book about who else may have invented the lightbulb first.

#Edison #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
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The illustrations in this book are simply stunning. There is also a lot of science and facts involved while Pete works to build mouse-sized diving bell and later a submarine, in the search of his ancestor's sunken treasure. This is a very long book with a lot of words, so it would be great to read aloud to an older child (or one with a lot of patience). It's also divided into chapters of just a few pages each, so maybe reading a chapter at a time would work well for a child who can't sit still long enough to make it through the whole book.
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I'm pretty sure I will never be disappointed by a Torben Kuhlmann book, he is such a great painter and writer and even if his stories follow more or less the same pattern every time, they are such a pleasure for the eyes that the story matters till a certain point.

Sono abbastanza sicura che difficilmente potrei non apprezzare uno dei libri di Torben  Kuhlmann perché lui é un grande disegnatore e anche se le sue storie seguono spesso la stessa trama, sono un piacere per gli occhi tanto da far scivolare tutto il resto in secondo piano.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!
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I can not say enough wonderful things about the pictures in this book. They are beautiful and each page is a little work of art. The story was a bit longer than expected but very cute and fun. Pete the mouse is adorable and this is a fun adventure with amazing illustrations.
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I thought this would be another elementary children's book that I'd have to really work at getting my children to enjoy. Boy, was I wrong. 

I had heard of Kuhlmann's talent before but was unfamiliar with his work. Going into Edison I immediately knew this was not just another children's book. Kuhlmann's Edison not only had a gripping story centered around cute and friendly mice but the illustrations were wondrous to behold. 

My children just loved Pete and his adventure to discover the history behind his ancestor's treasure. Kuhlmann cleverly imparts science into all the action so that children can be educated in a subtle way about research, experiments and strategy without being weighted down by technical jargon. 

And have we talked about the illustrations? I mean, we touched on it, but WOW, those illustrations. The dedication it takes to make such detailed and vivid artwork is what sets Kuhlmann's work above the rest. My children wouldn't let me turn the page until they had devoured every detail on the page. 

This is a children's book worth investing in.
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This is a very entertaining read for me! For a person whose first language isn't english, this one is really easy to understand yet still fun and intriguing to read!
The cute and softly detailed illustration made me feel so happy to look at it and make association to the story itself.

The story is really unique and enjoyable, but I must admit the illustration plays a big part for me to really like this book. Cannot wait for Mr. Torben's next creation!!
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