Nikola Tesla’s Electric Dreams

Book 6

Nikola Tesla’s Electric Dreams

On a stormy night, the lights go out in Jennifer and Daniel’s home. By candlelight, their grandfather, Dr. Liu, tells them about Nikola Tesla, an inventor whose ideas helped change the way the world used electricity. Soon, a mysterious invitation from Dr. K arrives, and a quiet evening becomes the beginning of another journey through time.

In the sixth book of Dr. K’s Portal Through Time, 10-year-old Jennifer and her 8-year- old brother, Daniel, travel to nineteenth-century New York City and meet Tesla. Inside laboratories filled with coils, motors, wires, and remarkable experiments, they begin to understand the difference between alternating current, AC, and direct current, DC. With Dr. K guiding them, they discover how Tesla’s work with AC helped make electrical power practical on a large scale.

Their adventure carries them into the rivalry known as the War of the Currents, through the illuminated grounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and onward to Tesla’s laboratory in Colorado Springs. They explore electricity and magnetism while learning about his bold hopes for wireless communication and energy.

Along the way, Jennifer and Daniel discover the patience behind the inventions. Tesla faces competition, doubt, and painful setbacks, yet continues to question, test, and imagine.

Nikola Tesla’s Electric Dreams blends history, science, and time-travel adventure for curious readers ages 8–12. It invites children to look more closely at the electricity around them and consider what their own questions might lead them to discover.