Recommended for children ages 7 to 13, “Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World” by Elizabeth Rusch, tells the story of the eponymous inventor as he grew from a Serbian boy playing in a stream to an electrical engineer literally giving power to the famous lights of Broadway.
Rusch’s non-fiction picture book can be enjoyed on multiple levels. It is a compelling tale with fascinating illustrations by Oliver Dominguez about the creative, imaginative child who dreamed big, and who continued pursuing his groundbreaking electrical engineering concept of alternating current despite naysayers. It’s also a great science book, combining explanations and diagrams of how alternating and direct currents work with examples of awe-inspiring applications: Tesla’s invention was used to harness the power of Niagara Falls to literally illuminate New Yorkers. The story of Tesla and his experiments is so exciting, that parents should warn their littlest listeners of the dangers of playing with electricity.
“Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World” by Elizabeth Rusch, $16.99, www.amazon.com.
