The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald

The Alvin Fernald books were in fact made into movies for the Wonderful World Of Disney. They are Alvin the Magnificent, The Wiz Kid and The Mystery of Riverton, The Wiz Kid and the Carnival Caper. I just wanted to let any fans know. The bad news is that none of them have been released on video or DVD. But how knows, maybe Disney will get smart and release them.

I am 45 years old... my 44 year old brother came over and talked about how this book changed his life. He read it as a kid and became an inventor of sorts himself... a perpetual tinkerer. He wasn't sure of the name and I found it for him and ordered him a copy as well as my 9 year old son. It took some insistance to get by boy, Nick, to read it. He couldn't put it down and when my brother came over to visit he quized Nick on select parts of the book. They both smiled and laughed. Having read it myself I can tell you it is a most wonderful book. Buy it! Your kid will remember it always.

Alvin Fernald in "The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald" gives us the character we've been wanting to see for a long time. No pretentious, Einstein-like, nauseating child characters as are so often found in children's books today. The words "believable" and "energized" fit this character and this book. Alvin is entertaining, hilarious and inventive. This book is REFRESHING. Kids are free from dealing with divorce, AIDS, broken promises, puberties-gone-bad and all the other bibliotherapy themes that seem to permeate the current books for children. Not that those aren't important, but this one is a time-out from seriousness, and is a roller coaster ride, a non-stop comedy routine, and a mystery which actually develops in a BELIEVABLE manner. It is such REFRESHING FUN. The story line is so adeptly crafted by its author, Clifford B. Hicks, a talented writer of much expertise and experience. Books like this separate the usual books that have plagued the children's market for the last several years by formula hack writers from those written by truly talented children's writers, like Clifford B. Hicks. It's such a relief to read something so enjoyable and so NOT-FORMULA. Single this book out for your children and leave the over-used theme, big yawn books to others less discriminating. This book is SPECIAL. Give YOUR kid's their childhood's back with "The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald."