From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-Another addition to the growing collection of biographies about Bell. MacLeod traces her subject's life from his birth in Scotland, through his many inventions and achievements, and concludes with his last few experiments and his death at his home in Canada. She gives equal attention to all of Bell's interests, such as his devotion to advancements for the hearing impaired and his later interest in flight. Photos and reproductions of the subject and his family and sketches of his many inventions appear on colorful backgrounds. A list of Web sites is appended. Tom Matthews's Always Inventing (National Geographic, 1999) is a more substantial book for the same age group, but this one is an adequate choice with its own merits.Carol Fazioli, The Brearley School, New York City, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
This large-format Canadian book introduces Alexander Graham Bell in a series of double-page spreads featuring topics such as the invention of the telephone, Bell's friendship with Helen Keller, his summer home on Cape Breton, and his experiments building airplanes. Although the author's practice of referring to Bell as "AGB" is distracting at first, the text reads well, and the extended captions offer interesting facts, such as: "During AGB's funeral, telephone service in North America was halted for one minute." Illustrations include color photographs of sites, documents, and artifacts as well as period photographs printed in various colors. An engraving-style representation of Bell in varied poses appears on each spread making cartoon-balloon comments. The number of disparate graphic elements on each spread detracts from the book's visual appeal. Compared to Leonard Everett Fisher's recent Alexander Graham Bell, MacLeod's treatment includes more information, but the presentation, verbally and visually, is more disjointed. A time line and an annotated list of Web sites are appended. Not a basic purchase, but a possible choice for libraries seeking additional material on Bell. Carolyn Phelan

From Kirkus Reviews
In what has, for no discernable reason, become a rush to publish biographies of Bell, this emerges as the least formal, most approachable of the pack. MacLeod (I Heard a Little Baa, 1998) takes the great inventor, familiarly dubbed ``AGB,'' from Edinburgh to Ontario, on to Boston, and finally to his estate in Nova Scotia, giving his public and private lives equal attention, capturing his vast range of interest from aeronautics to audiology, and bringing his familiar exploits to life. A stubby caricature of Bell guides readers through full but not overcrowded collages of family photos, manuscript pages, simple diagrams, period advertisements, and newspaper illustrations. This is just a glimpse of the man, of course, and those who want to take a longer look can start with either the web sites listed at the back, or move on to Tom L. Matthews's Always Inventing (p. 69). (index) (Biography. 8-10) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When Alexander Graham Bell spoke those words, he changed the world. It was 1876, and he had just sent the first message over the telephone. Thanks to his invention, you can dial up a pizza, surf the Internet, e-mail a friend or talk to someone on the other side of the world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Shirley Murray - ForeWord Magazine

Well-researched details, photographs, portions of original documents and special type make each double page a montage to convey a single thought.... An exceptional offering from McLeod, a children's editor whose inventive books are always full of surprises.

Children's Literature - Helen J. Gaush

Everyone knows that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but what about his other contributions to the world? In fact, he helped deaf people to better communicate, designed airplanes and sea devices, and even created a vacuum jacket for people with breathing problems! With its vivid account of Bell's life and the people who influenced him, Alexander Graham Bell: An Inventive Life sheds light onto both the scientific and compassionate sides of one of greatest inventors that ever lived.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-Another addition to the growing collection of biographies about Bell. MacLeod traces her subject's life from his birth in Scotland, through his many inventions and achievements, and concludes with his last few experiments and his death at his home in Canada. She gives equal attention to all of Bell's interests, such as his devotion to advancements for the hearing impaired and his later interest in flight. Photos and reproductions of the subject and his family and sketches of his many inventions appear on colorful backgrounds. A list of Web sites is appended. Tom Matthews's Always Inventing (National Geographic, 1999) is a more substantial book for the same age group, but this one is an adequate choice with its own merits.-Carol Fazioli, The Brearley School, New York City, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In what has, for no discernable reason, become a rush to publish biographies of Bell, this emerges as the least formal, most approachable of the pack. MacLeod (I Heard a Little Baa, 1998) takes the great inventor, familiarly dubbed "AGB," from Edinburgh to Ontario, on to Boston, and finally to his estate in Nova Scotia, giving his public and private lives equal attention, capturing his vast range of interest from aeronautics to audiology, and bringing his familiar exploits to life. A stubby caricature of Bell guides readers through full but not overcrowded collages of family photos, manuscript pages, simple diagrams, period advertisements, and newspaper illustrations. This is just a glimpse of the man, of course, and those who want to take a longer look can start with either the web sites listed at the back, or move on to Tom L. Matthews's Always Inventing (p.Ê69). (index) (Biography. 8-10)