One of the books I remember the best from my growing up years is “The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald.” Alvin is a boy with a brain so magnificent, it sometimes surprises even him. The inventions he comes up with are truly out of this world, such as the alarm clock which wakes up soundlessly by pulling a string on his toe. (He delivers the newspaper, and he gets up early enough that he doesn’t want to wake up the rest of his family with a loud clock.) He invented a Sure Shot Paper Slinger to help him get those newspapers right on the front porch every time, and he can make sure his little sister “The Pest” doesn’t come into his room while he’s gone – the Foolproof Burglar Alarm will see to that.
One day while out delivering newspapers, Alvin discovers something strange. Someone has come to live in the old Huntley place. For a long time, it’s just been Mrs. Huntley there, but she seems to have company, in the form of two men. But things just don’t feel right to Alvin, and so, along with The Pest and Shoie, his very best friend in the world, they set out to discover the solution to the puzzle. In the end, they bring down two burglars, using more of Alvin’s amazing inventions, including a periscope and a burglar catcher. Think “Home Alone,” only better.
I really enjoyed this book, as well as the others in the Alvin series. I have a son who loves to invent just as much as Alvin does, and as soon as he’s reading on this level, I’ll buy him a copy for his very own. In the meantime, get one for your intermediate reader, and while you’re at it, you can read it too.
This is an illustration of Alvin using his bed-making invention.
(This book was first published in the 1960s, but was released again in 2006 by Purple House Press.)
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