Ellen Sturm Niz

It is a graphic novel for children and follows the technological achievements and hardships of Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the television. Its comic book-style graphics are professional and friendly, and the layout is true to the style of a graphic novel, but also easy to read. Niz’s writing style is really fun, because it intersperses hard facts and historically-accurate fiction. It also includes lots of important dates and facts, but in a way that makes them part of the story instead of something boring to memorize.
The general story of Farnsworth’s life is that at age thirteen, he basically came up with the idea that led him to create the first television. Once he was out of school, he set up a lab and got to work figuring out how to make his invention a reality. Unfortunately, the ensuing press coverage led the competition straight to Philo’s doorstep. The president of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and a Russian engineer teamed up to steal Philo’s ideas. They succeeded, and started making their own television. The argument over who owned the patent eventually went to court, but thankfully Philo won. He now owned the rights to the patent, but that didn’t stop RCA from pushing their own version and making lots of money, while maintaining that their Russian scientist was the true inventor of television. Although Philo was not recognized as the true inventor of television during his lifetime, there is now a statue dedicated to him as such in Washington, D.C. The back of the book also talks about Philo’s contributions to World War II soldiers, and mentions that he and his family lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
I really enjoyed this book, and would use it in my classroom. I think the visual style of the book would connect well to visual learners, and I like that it includes lots of good facts but refrains from sounding like a textbook. I verified that the information is accurate, by reading an article on him by the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco found at http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/philo.html. Due to the connection to Fort Wayne, I could use this book with lessons on local figures in history, technology in the home, or electricity. It would also be a great read-aloud book where we could sit in a circle and I would play the narrator, and read the rectangular blocks of narration, while each student around the circle would take turns reading the blurbs of what the people are saying. This would involve everyone, and make the format of the book easier to understand for anyone who didn’t “get it” right away. The approximate grade level for which I would use this would be fourth or fifth grade.… (meer)