According to the author blurb, author Jacqueline Houtman “most enjoys writing sciency fiction for kids, where real science is integral to the story.” The Reinvention of Edison Thomas is certainly “sciency” in lots of ways. If you have kid who likes inventions and inventors, who is maybe a little geeky (in a good way, of course), who would enjoy reading about taking things apart and doing science to solve practical problems, Edison Thomas is the book.

Brief summary: Edison Thomas, Eddy, can understand lasers and eddy coils, but he doesn’t understand the actions and emotions of his fellow classmates in middle school. Eddy’s thought patterns and his limited abilities in social interaction are sometimes difficult and disconcerting to read about, but even when he is being bullied by the guy he thinks is his best friend, Eddy never loses sight of what is really important. He finds ways to make real friends and ways to use his talents in science and organization to help the community and to improve himself in the areas where he’s challenged.

I am somewhat fascinated by books that feature characters who are on the autism spectrum, but the real key to this book is the science. Eddy uses a lot of science principles to solve problems and help people. He’s quite an inventor, but reading people is hard for him. I was trying to think of other middle grade fiction books that feature science (not science fiction), but I’m coming up nearly blank.

There are the Einstein Anderson books by Seymour Simon, but all of those books are about ten or fifteen years old and probably dated.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly from last year was full of biology and nature study.

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass had a lot of astronomy.

Lots of other books feature kids who like science, but there’s not much real science included as an integral part of the story.

What am I forgetting?