(2) K-3 Illustrated by el primo Ramón. Morse's (1791–1872) failures are front and center in this spirited picture book, helping to humanize the famous inventor. While traveling in France, Morse first conceived of an electric telegraph machine and a code based on dots and dashes. Mishaps and delays frequently impeded success--a valuable lesson in grit and determination. Pencil drawings are digitally colored with earth-toned hues. Author's note and additional facts about Morse are appended. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(3) YA Cyrus Field's funding of a transatlantic cable across Newfoundland and the Atlantic Ocean to Ireland was a costly and arduous venture, often delayed by violent storms and human error. Cowan's meticulously detailed biography provides insight into the particular persistence that drove Field's project as well as into nineteenth-century urban life. Archival drawings and photos (inexplicably blue-tinged) enhance the information. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) K-3 Super SandCastle: Amazing Inventors & Innovators series. Seven innovative thinkers and their history-making inventions are introduced in uncomplicated biographies for early readers. Each slim overview provides a cursory outline of the subject's life in ample archival photos illuminated by large-print text. A final question closes the gap between history and the present in each volume: "Who do you talk to on the telephone?" "What do you like to take pictures of?" Glos. Review covers these Super SandCastle: Amazing Inventors & Innovators titles: Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman, Henry Ford, Samuel Morse, Thomas Edison, and The Wright Brothers.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) K-3 Super SandCastle: Amazing Super Simple Inventions series. Each collection of activities explores the engineering principles and design features of historically important technological innovations in transportation, communication, and imaging. After background information about each invention, its principal innovator, and a timeline of development, readers can follow clear directions (illustrated with photos) to create their own prototypes from common items--a string phone and a balloon-powered car, for instance. Glos. Review covers these Super SandCastle: Amazing Super Simple Inventions titles: Super Simple Aircraft Projects, Super Simple Automobile Projects, Super Simple Camera Projects, Super Simple Phonograph Projects, Super Simple Telegraph Projects, and Super Simple Telephone Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Leo Espinosa. The people of Windy Flats count on Jackrabbit McCabe and his extra-long legs to deliver messages fast. Will the advent of the electric telegraph make Jackrabbit's gift obsolete? Only a man-versus-machine race will yield the answer. Espinosa's illustrations find the humor in this old-timey yarn, which is both informative and sensitive to the idea that progress can have human costs.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Great Idea series. Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki. This picture book biography recounts the story of how a young Italian boy became the father of modern wireless technology. Marconi's love of science and his fascination with Ben Franklin's discoveries in electricity led him, through trial and error, to eventually send a message between England and Newfoundland via his wireless telegraph. Mediocre acrylic paintings accompany the brief but informative text.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Inventors Who Changed the World series. This series provides a basic overview of each subject's life and career, including successes as well as mistakes and controversies. The series' design features generally well-reproduced archival photos, stock images of varying usefulness, and distracting, cluttered screen shots. Some less-motivated readers will appreciate the publisher's enhanced website. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Inventors Who Changed the World titles: Alexander Graham Bell, Louis Pasteur, Marconi and Tesla, and Philo T. Farnsworth.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) 4-6 In American History series. The earlier telegraph and the later telephone revolutionized communication in America. In a sometimes clumsy fashion, this book outlines the development of the two technologies, including background information on the inventors. Black-and-white pictures include a reproduction of Bell's earliest sketches. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang