Aesock’s Travels: Lights, Camera, Edison! 
By Gretchen McMasters
Illustrated by Victoria Seitzinger

      The lure of the early chapters in this book is the big kid feel. They’re short and lively and they have a few pictures, but they are not baby books. With that in mind, Aesock’s Travel’s does several things very well. It has death-defying adventure. It mixes fantasy and historical fiction (think The Magic Schoolbus meets The Time Warp Trio) to reinforce a life lesson. In Lights, Camera, Edison, the life lesson is about not giving up in the face of failure.

      The book’s only weakness is that it is extremely cute. Remember, kids choose chapter books to seem more grownup. Aesock, a chubby adorable sock-covered creature, brings a Barney feel than you don’t see in stories for this group. Young boys, especially, might find the character a bit babyish. But if you can convince a reader to overlook the preschool look, they’ll find a story inside that offers every bit of thrill they seek.