Scott R. Welvaert

Even though a lot of folks hate the whole ‘this book is x meets y,’ it’s basically as if the psychiatrist character from Until Dawn was mixed with the vibes of Outlast. The video game is revealed to be a scared straight towards bullying with it being programmed to have real life effects on the player —the main character playing the role of a bystander. This reveal being an intriguing twist as the author’s writing style is very addictive just like the in story game is to the characters, simply by being straight to the point.

Great if you’re looking for one of those books to binge in one sitting.… (mere)

Not only does this book tell the story of Helen Keller's life of courage and perseverance, it presents the material in a way that would appeal to reluctant readers. The Graphic Library series book gives the student background information, dialogue and visualization of Helen Keller's life. It allows the readers to see how the person dressed and spoke during the time, but in a form that is popular with today's generation. I think this will appeal to middle school students who need a visual aid when reading or those who are not interested in history subjects. I also appreciated the further reference section of age appropriate websites.… (mere)

Thomas Edison and the Lightbulb, by Scott R. Welvaert, in an excellent biography for 3rd-5th graders wanting to explore the amazing inventor. With the popularity of graphic novels, the biography is sure to be a hit for this age group. Welvaert is able to take the technical and scientific aspects that went into Edison’s discovery and make them interesting and easier to follow than by just presenting them as a bunch of uninteresting facts. Edison and the other characters’ dialogue help break up the aforementioned and keeps readers engaged. The author communicates Edison’s struggles and triumphs, complete with the suspense of a competing inventor and the merger of the two. Welvaert also includes a table of contents breaking up the story of the invention into four sections. A the end of the story there are more facts about Thomas Edison, a glossary of terms, a list of Internet sites and books that can provide additional information, a bibliography, and an index.… (mere)