The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth

Bibliography:
Krull, Kathleen. 2009. The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth. Ill. by Greg Couch. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 0375845615

Plot Summary:
Long before the era of instant communication we live in now, there was a time where people would have to wait days, even months, for news, important information or to just be able to speak to a family member. Philo Farnsworth grew up in such a time. As a child growing up in Utah, Philo asked questions about everything and had a desire to know how everything worked. After moving to Idaho, Philo comes in contact with electricity for the first time. Excited to find out how machines work, he even learned how to fix his family’s generation before he was even in high school. He was introduced to the idea of television through a magazine and never stopped thinking about how to accomplish sending images. Encouraged by a high school science teacher and then his wife, Philo continued to work on the idea until he was successful. Captivated with the idea of being able to connect with the world that was around him, it was that inquisitive nature that drove him to invent the technology that would allow the television to become a part of the national lexicon.

Critical Summary:
As a picture book biography, Krull was tasked with making sure that the story of Philo Farnsworth was accurate and interesting without taking liberties for the sake of readability, something with which she finds success. Krull cites her sources and includes a short preface and author’s note, making certain that the reader knows where she received her information. The author’s curiosity and enthusiasm for the subject of her work is clear though the writing, which is concise and informative without sacrificing flow or ease of reading. Vocabulary used in the work could be easily understood by a young reader, the target audience of this work.

The subject of her work is quite young (the tale picks up when Philo was just born), something that she emphasizes throughout the story. This emphasis would not go unnoticed by the intended reader; showing that someone as young as 10 can understand complex concepts, even more so than some of the adults in their lives. Illustrations that supplement the story support the words; the reader truly gains an understanding of what is happening to Philo and what he is feeling through the accompanying picture.

Awards and Reviews:
NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2010
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year (2009)
2009 Parents' Choice Silver Honor winner

“Krull's focus is on the boy genius becoming an inventor like his heroes, and only in a note does she mention his struggles with RCA and his bitterness later in life. The facts aren't new, but with Krull building the story and Couch's exceptional images, it's one to inspire young audiences with the vast possibilities that imagination and diligence can accomplish.” – Janet S. Thompson, School Library Journal

“In The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth, by Kathleen Krull (illustrated by Greg Couch), you have another classic story: the science-loving country boy who solves the puzzle before the professionals, by himself, in the wilds…Beautiful and beautifully told, the book tracks like the sort of graphic novel that breaks your heart, with its implied passage of time and slipping away of early dreams.” – New York Times Review

Connections:
*This work only follows Philo Farnsworth so far, so what happened to him next? Incorporate learning about how to research in an exercise where you task students with finding out what happened to Philo later in his life. (It may be helpful to break into several groups, who are each given a specific question to answer, like did he have any children? If so, how many and when were they born?)
*Check out books about other young inventors, like Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin.
*Figure out how a television really works! Gather books that show how a TV puts together the pictures that we see everyday.
*Find other books about inventors of other image capturing tools, like the photo camera and the film camera.

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