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Inventor McGregor
Inventor McGregor can invent most anything that needs
inventing, from a barking bag for the postman to bouncing
boots for wee Willie. At his home workshop, McGregor never
knows when inspiration will hit: while surrounded by his cheery
wife and children, singing a song, or painting a picture. "Just
imagine how many more gadgets and gizmos you'll be able to
think up with a clear head and no distractions," says the
president of the Royal Society of Inventors, inviting him to
work in the city. So why, in his new laboratory, is McGregor
unable to think of a thing?
Rich language that skips and jumps combined with lively,
detailed art brings this delightful story home to young readers
and their parents.
inventing, from a barking bag for the postman to bouncing
boots for wee Willie. At his home workshop, McGregor never
knows when inspiration will hit: while surrounded by his cheery
wife and children, singing a song, or painting a picture. "Just
imagine how many more gadgets and gizmos you'll be able to
think up with a clear head and no distractions," says the
president of the Royal Society of Inventors, inviting him to
work in the city. So why, in his new laboratory, is McGregor
unable to think of a thing?
Rich language that skips and jumps combined with lively,
detailed art brings this delightful story home to young readers
and their parents.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 21, 2006
37 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen T. Pelley
13 books128 followersI was born in Glasgow, Scotland—a country famous for its heather dappled mountains, lochs, tartans, thistles, shaggy Highland cattle, sheep, bagpipes, castles, haggis, and of course, a veritable treasure chest of stories.
My gentle Irish father also loved to feed me his own tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees. Every summer, my two big brothers and I would visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland, where we whiled away the days with hay-rides, turf-rides, milking cows, shearing sheep, feeding pet lambs, and organizing frog races.
My passion for stories stemmed from listening to them: crouched in front of the radio for the BBC children’s hour, or huddled before a turf fire in Ireland as the aunts and uncles talked in low, hushed voices, or walking hand in hand with my dad down a leafy lane, as he whispered secrets to me about mermaids and banshees. Before I could write words, or read them, I knew that they were magic, because of the music they made.
After I learned to read, I devoured all the fairy tales I could find. At school my favorite subjects were English and History and Drama. At Edinburgh University, I studied History. I was never very good at remembering all the dates, because that involved numbers, but I had no trouble remembering the people and the events, because that involved stories. As an elementary teacher, I loved teaching language and history and drama. In my classroom I always made plenty of time for reading stories aloud to my students, no matter what age they were.
After moving to the States in 1990 with my husband, an American, and my two daughters, one born in Scotland, the other in England, I was extremely homesick. Writing helped to soothe the hurt in my heart, and soon I was sending off my stories to publishers.
After many, many, years, and many, many rejections, I finally began to experience a few small successes, and in October 2003, my first children’s picture book was published by Child and Family Press.
When I’m not writing my own stories, I enjoy telling stories to anyone who will listen. For over twelve years I was a narrator of books on tape for the Colorado Talking Book Library, and for the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have a wonderful audience of children at two inner city elementary schools, where I visit once a month and read folktales and fairytales from around the world to grades K-6. Visit my website to sign up for a membership and access to these stories online.
My gentle Irish father also loved to feed me his own tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees. Every summer, my two big brothers and I would visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland, where we whiled away the days with hay-rides, turf-rides, milking cows, shearing sheep, feeding pet lambs, and organizing frog races.
My passion for stories stemmed from listening to them: crouched in front of the radio for the BBC children’s hour, or huddled before a turf fire in Ireland as the aunts and uncles talked in low, hushed voices, or walking hand in hand with my dad down a leafy lane, as he whispered secrets to me about mermaids and banshees. Before I could write words, or read them, I knew that they were magic, because of the music they made.
After I learned to read, I devoured all the fairy tales I could find. At school my favorite subjects were English and History and Drama. At Edinburgh University, I studied History. I was never very good at remembering all the dates, because that involved numbers, but I had no trouble remembering the people and the events, because that involved stories. As an elementary teacher, I loved teaching language and history and drama. In my classroom I always made plenty of time for reading stories aloud to my students, no matter what age they were.
After moving to the States in 1990 with my husband, an American, and my two daughters, one born in Scotland, the other in England, I was extremely homesick. Writing helped to soothe the hurt in my heart, and soon I was sending off my stories to publishers.
After many, many, years, and many, many rejections, I finally began to experience a few small successes, and in October 2003, my first children’s picture book was published by Child and Family Press.
When I’m not writing my own stories, I enjoy telling stories to anyone who will listen. For over twelve years I was a narrator of books on tape for the Colorado Talking Book Library, and for the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have a wonderful audience of children at two inner city elementary schools, where I visit once a month and read folktales and fairytales from around the world to grades K-6. Visit my website to sign up for a membership and access to these stories online.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 25, 2017
This is a humorous and entertaining story that celebrates the Art part of STEAM and how it inspires creativitiy and a whimsical outlook on life. In addition, the book also emphasizes the classic adage, "necessity is the mother of invention."
The illustrations are comical and filled with the charm of an older time. I really enjoyed reading this book and loved the message about living in the moment and following your passion.
new words: strathspey, wheeched,
The illustrations are comical and filled with the charm of an older time. I really enjoyed reading this book and loved the message about living in the moment and following your passion.
new words: strathspey, wheeched,
February 24, 2019
A story about inventing/engineering in response to a defined/observed need.
Inventor McGregor was fantastic at fixing things and at inventing solutions to people's problems. But when taken to the city and given a sterile lab room in which to invent, he had no inspiration and thus no invention. When he gave up on the lab and started working back at home, he started inventing again.
Inventor McGregor was fantastic at fixing things and at inventing solutions to people's problems. But when taken to the city and given a sterile lab room in which to invent, he had no inspiration and thus no invention. When he gave up on the lab and started working back at home, he started inventing again.
February 23, 2008
Hector McGregor creates the most useful and fantastical inventions until he is taken to the city to work in a lab free of distractions, where he quickly discovers that he needs to be with his cheery wife and children in their home among the bluebells and heather to find inspiration. Beautifully lilting language finds a perfect mate in Chesworth’s watercolor illustrations that delightfully capture the spirit of McGregor, his lively family, and his inventions, as well as his efforts to overcome creativity block when left in the stark emptiness of his city laboratory. Every page of this engaging book is satisfying. Inject a little fun into a unit on inventors by sharing endearing and inspiring Inventor McGregor with your class.
February 4, 2016
McGregor is an inventive man who lives an artsy and chaotic life. His fantastic inventions (made to help others in his neighborhood) garner the attention of the muckity-mucks in the city who convince him to come work as an inventor for him. Unfortunately, he can't think of a single thing in the drab, dull environment of his lab. He needs his family and all the chaos that goes along with them in order to be happy enough to invent.
Charming illustrations.
Charming illustrations.
January 21, 2022
Very charming art and an interesting main character, but the story arc didn't do much for me. Maybe it's not fair to judge a book from 2006 by 2022 standards, but this one did not stand the test of time. The text is very long, and it takes over half the book to come to the critical moment (the "One day...") when things change for the main character.
July 3, 2018
A book about what inspires us to be creative. Beautiful illustrations, very sweet story.
October 22, 2020
Man, I wish I had grown up with this. Especially as I wanted to be an inventor when I was little. The lesson is also one that I think every adult trying to be creative needs.
February 6, 2023
Very fun book with a deep message that could be interpreted several ways.
June 1, 2009
Because he can invent just about anything the people might need, the folks in Hector’s town call him Inventor McGregor, and some the Royal Society of Inventor’s ask him to come to the city to work for them. Hector agrees, but he soon discovers he needs more that a sterile room to bring his ideas to life. I felt the book was wordy and the repetition wasn’t enough to add a rhythm to the story. Several of the illustrations were excellent, but others didn’t really add anything to the book. I left the text not knowing for certain what was to be learned which makes me believe children won’t quite get it either.
May 9, 2014
This inventor is one crazy guy. The boys I have read it too think it's hysterical. For someone who loves to try new things, this is a very supportive book. Kids (4-5 year olds) are drawn to this book. The vocabulary is unmatched in this genre and the narrative skills kids are introduced to in this book are unexpected.
August 31, 2008
A great story of how important family is and how you should do what makes you happy. The illustrations are really fun and all the kids enjoyed it. They looked through is many times.
We'll be reading this book again.
We'll be reading this book again.
April 15, 2009
This book is about Hector who lives in a small village and invents all kinds of helpful stuff for his fellow villagers. A group approach him to give him a job to invent things for them in the big city. After a few weeks of zero ideas will Hector be able to keep his job in the big city?
April 4, 2011
What a lovely story about a man who followed his heart. I loved how the man gave the business life a try but then realized that only when he was truly happy that he could do his best inventing. I picked this book up randomly from the bookshelf and now I am so glad that I did! :)
July 28, 2010
Cute book about what's truly important in life.
June 6, 2011
The inventive fight against conformity!
August 24, 2011
27 months - O and I both enjoyed this one. You can't be creative in a void, one must be happy and inspired. Something we all need to remember if we want to have creative kids!
August 26, 2011
Good for a vocabulary unit
October 10, 2012
A good book about having a balanced life. Cute illustrations and unique inventions.
March 26, 2016
Love.
June 27, 2013
A perfect read-aloud I wouldn't hesitate to read out loud to my kids today, even though they are grown up. Wonderful illustrations. Great message ... follow your heart.
April 12, 2015
In this Colorado Book Award winning story, McGreggor learns a valuable lesson about staying true to yourself.I think this will make for a great read aloud book for young students.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews