GENRE: STEM/STEAM, Lyrical, Biography
WORDS: 525
Query:
Dear PBParty Judges, Editors, and Agents,
THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD: How Young Nikola Tesla’s Imagination Led to the Greatest Inventions of All Time is a lyrical 525-word picture book biography written for young children ages 4 to 6.
As a child, Nikola plays in the woods, invents contraptions, tinkers with things, and explores the world around him. The skills he develops during his carefree childhood help him to realize his incredible achievements as an adult.
The lyrical text links Nikola’s childhood activities to his adult life as an inventor. The book is designed to inspire young children to imagine themselves as the inventors and changemakers of the future.
While several picture book titles have been written about Tesla, this book is specifically designed for young children. My book doesn’t cover Tesla’s entire life and doesn’t try to explain complicated science to children. Instead, it focuses on the creative process and the ways inventors think.
Comparable titles include The Brilliant Calculator: How Mathematician Edith Clark Helped Electrify America (2023, Reagan) for its focus on inventions that led to the modern age;
The Fire of Stars (2023, Larson) for showing how childhood passions lead to adult achievements; and Dragon Bones (2021, Marsh) for examples of picture book biographies appropriate for young children.
My picture book biography, Antonia and Her Magic Wand: The Extraordinary Story of Antonia Brico, Symphony Conductor will be published by Random House/Anne Schwartz Books in the fall of 2026. I have authored four biographies for children for the “Great Lives in Colorado” series, published by Filter Press. A former elementary school teacher, I write curriculum for elementary and middle-school students, published on Teachers Pay Teachers and contribute historical articles to the online Colorado Encyclopedia. I am an active member of Rocky Mountain SCBWI and serve as the archivist for the chapter.
Excerpt:
“Our earliest memories shape our destiny.” -Nikola Tesla
Nikola (child) rests in a grassy meadow.
Eyes closed, still as a statue,
but his mind races.
There is wonder all around him.
The world bursts with motion and energy.
What will he imagine?
Creative ideas swirl around his home.
What can he create?
A frog catcher. A bug-powered pinwheel.
A pop-gun with a deafening BANG.
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
When I was traveling in Serbia, I went to the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, where I was awed to learn more about Nikola and to see his inventions. As a teacher of young gifted students, I wondered about his childhood experiences and how they contributed to him becoming such an imaginative and creative adult. I discovered he had written about his childhood of long summer afternoons enjoying nature and exploring and experimenting with his world. There was a direct correlation between these childhood activities and the inventions he created as an adult. I wanted to write a book that encourages children to play, explore, and ask questions like the famous inventor.
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