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Awesome Minds: The Inventors of LEGO® Toys: An Entertaining History about the Creation of LEGO Toys. Educational and Entertaining.
Everyone has played with LEGO® toys, but not many people know who is behind this awesome invention. This fun and engaging book tells the story of how a Danish carpenter and his family turned a desperate situation into the most popular toy in history. With full-color illustrations and lively text, and chock-full of interesting facts, Awesome The Inventors of LEGO® Toys is the perfect read for those with creative spirits and curious minds. This book is an independently authored and published biography of the family that created the LEGO® construction toy and is not sponsored or endorsed by or affiliated in any way with the LEGO Group of companies, owner of the LEGO® trademarks. Also Awesome Video Game Creators Awesome Comic Book Creators Awesome The Creators of the iPhone
48 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2016
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125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 18, 2020
I'm surprised to see so few reviews of this book and feel it definitely deserves wider readership. LEGO toys are more popular than ever and this book does a great job of showing how they came to be. We begin in 1897 in Denmark when young Ole Kirk Christiansen was six year old and began whittling. He became a skilled woodworker. Later, Ole Kirk began his company by making wooden toys and the company specialized in this until post-WWII when plastic became more widely available and they began making plastic toys. The company had made wooden blocks for years and began to make plastic blocks though these were not immediately successful. (Also, LEGO wasn't the only company to make plastic bricks.) It wasn't until the 1950s that Ole Kirk's son, Godfred, took over the business and came up with the idea of making the LEGO bricks part of a SYSTEM -- each LEGO could become part of a bigger whole, making the toy different each time children played with it. The rest, as they say, is history (and we do get several pages about that history as the LEGO brick system evolved over the decades).
The story is engagingly told with many side-bars of interesting factoids. Did you know that, in Latin, "lego" means "I build" or "I assemble"? Ole Kirk didn't know that when he started using the name LEGO. What a neat coincidence! I also appreciate the ways it shows some business principals, use of creativity and innovation and trial and error, and even perseverance in the face of hardship (Ole Kirk's wooden toy factory burned down three times causing the company huge setbacks). It's a longish book and, despite being heavily illustrated, probably a bit long for the early picture book crowd, so I would recommend it for elementary school aged children and above. Includes a glossary, index and a "Read More About Inventors" recommended reading list in the back.
The story is engagingly told with many side-bars of interesting factoids. Did you know that, in Latin, "lego" means "I build" or "I assemble"? Ole Kirk didn't know that when he started using the name LEGO. What a neat coincidence! I also appreciate the ways it shows some business principals, use of creativity and innovation and trial and error, and even perseverance in the face of hardship (Ole Kirk's wooden toy factory burned down three times causing the company huge setbacks). It's a longish book and, despite being heavily illustrated, probably a bit long for the early picture book crowd, so I would recommend it for elementary school aged children and above. Includes a glossary, index and a "Read More About Inventors" recommended reading list in the back.
August 24, 2016
Fascinating look at the invention and evolution of LEGO.
October 17, 2016
Excellent and thorough treatment of one family's legacy, the Lego brick. Well-illustrated. Well-organized. Chronicles rise of a company, history of a family, and historical context. Interesting and unexpected.
October 17, 2018
My son loves LEGO. We are overrun with the blocks. My experience with LEGO is far more modest. I had one small box. My mother thought they were too expensive. My son regularly gets the big box with 1,000+ pieces. We have balked at the multi-hundred dollar sets, however.
Anyhow, I saw our local library was hosting a LEGO evening tonight. I thought Fritz would enjoy it. To their credit, the library is working hard to turn itself around. Just a few years ago, I favored closing its doors. Today, the library is providing good services. I appreciate it!
Unfortunately, we were the only attendees. :( Fritz ended up being a charter member. Ha! We had a grand time building our dream homes.
The leader of the club had several LEGO books on show, including this one. She encouraged us to check it out, which we did.
This is the story of Ole Kirk Christiansen and his son Godtfred. Ole began a toy company, making high-quality wooden toys. He eventually named it LEGO (play well). As Ole aged, he branched out into plastics. After his death, Godtfred shuttled the wooden toy division to concentrate on the LEGO brick. He perfected it and expanded!
I found this book fascinating. A wonderful example of informational text. The data was wonderful. The shear number of bricks created hourly/daily/yearly is staggering.
This will be a hit with my students. It's a little long for our daily read, but perhaps I can steal a few extra minutes somewhere.
Good stuff!
Anyhow, I saw our local library was hosting a LEGO evening tonight. I thought Fritz would enjoy it. To their credit, the library is working hard to turn itself around. Just a few years ago, I favored closing its doors. Today, the library is providing good services. I appreciate it!
Unfortunately, we were the only attendees. :( Fritz ended up being a charter member. Ha! We had a grand time building our dream homes.
The leader of the club had several LEGO books on show, including this one. She encouraged us to check it out, which we did.
This is the story of Ole Kirk Christiansen and his son Godtfred. Ole began a toy company, making high-quality wooden toys. He eventually named it LEGO (play well). As Ole aged, he branched out into plastics. After his death, Godtfred shuttled the wooden toy division to concentrate on the LEGO brick. He perfected it and expanded!
I found this book fascinating. A wonderful example of informational text. The data was wonderful. The shear number of bricks created hourly/daily/yearly is staggering.
This will be a hit with my students. It's a little long for our daily read, but perhaps I can steal a few extra minutes somewhere.
Good stuff!
November 30, 2018
Title: The Inventors of LEGO Toys
Author: Erin Hagar
Lexile Level: 970L
Pages: 45
Recommendations and Comments: Did you know enough LEGO bricks have been produced to give everyone in the world 86 bricks? The Inventors of LEGO Toys tells the story of the LEGO brick and where it came from. You might be surprised to learn that a carpenter by the name of Ole Kirk Christiansen was the first to develop the interlocking toys. Ole Kirk had a hard life: no work, fires and the death of his wife. He and his four sons persevered and built one of the most successful toy companies of the century. This book is great for all LEGO lovers!
Stars: 5 out of 5
Reviewed by: Jamie Guardi
Author: Erin Hagar
Lexile Level: 970L
Pages: 45
Recommendations and Comments: Did you know enough LEGO bricks have been produced to give everyone in the world 86 bricks? The Inventors of LEGO Toys tells the story of the LEGO brick and where it came from. You might be surprised to learn that a carpenter by the name of Ole Kirk Christiansen was the first to develop the interlocking toys. Ole Kirk had a hard life: no work, fires and the death of his wife. He and his four sons persevered and built one of the most successful toy companies of the century. This book is great for all LEGO lovers!
Stars: 5 out of 5
Reviewed by: Jamie Guardi
August 27, 2018
This is a well written book that combines interesting facts, the founding family, and the toy company that started the building block boom. The book also has great illustrations of the family, their start as a wood toy company, as well as wonderful drawings. The layout also has cool infographics and fun facts, For history nerds, like me, the book contains a copy of the original patent application for the block that would take over the world.
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April 6, 2020This book details the invention of the LEGO and the people behind the company. It has great illustrations and many fun facts throughout the book that children who like LEGOs or building things would find very interesting. I would recommend this book for children in 1st-5th grade.
July 3, 2023
I will always remember the day i got my first bin of bricks. That bin grew to more than 1 million bricks. There was some things left out of the book about its history, but i still enjoyed it! And i still did learn some new things!
June 8, 2017
great read for children to learn about the creation of Legos
June 25, 2017
Yes, this is a kids book. Yes, I loved it. Yes, I learned a lot about the history of the Lego company. Yes, it was fascinating. Yes, you should read it.
May 19, 2018
I really enjoyed reading this with my 6-year-old LEGO enthusiast. It was an enjoyable blend of one of his biggest passions and history, something he is not as passionate about.
July 3, 2023
Lego is one of my favorite things to do! Even though i know all about Lego, it's still cool to listen to it again. I've loved Lego for so long!
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July 3, 2023"I liked it because it was about Lego. The saddest part was when Ole died. But I still liked it. It was a nice book."
June 17, 2025
Straightforward story of the family who created the LEGO company and LEGO bricks.
July 13, 2025
Read it with Henry who didn't know the history of LEGO.
September 18, 2017
Good balance between a biography of people and a history of the company, with information delivered in short bursts and illustrated with colorful and appropriate drawings.
December 4, 2025
Another Books For Boys Book Club read with my 9 and 10 year old boys. Both of them are LEGO lovers so they were really excited to learn about the origins of the toys they loved so much. This was full of fun facts and information, but didn’t keep my 9 year old’s attention very well. We had to break it up quite a bit for him, but overall we all enjoyed this one.
August 7, 2016
The children’s book Awesome Minds: The Inventors of LEGO® Toys is colorful and engaging, just like LEGO bricks themselves. Over the course of 48 pages, author Erin Hagar teams with illustrator Paige Garrison to tell the origin story of the Danish company behind the iconic toy.
Hagar’s history lesson begins at the turn of the 20th century with Ole Kirk Christiansen. A carpenter by trade, Christiansen founded The LEGO Group in 1932 in the small Denmark town of Billund (where LEGO’s head office is still located today). The company initially developed wooden toys, including yo-yos, and became a family affair – all four of Ole Kirk’s sons worked there.
The Great Depression and several factory fires eventually saw the company move away from wood and turn exclusively to injection-molding and plastic toys. The first glimpse of LEGO as we know it today came in 1949 with the release of Automatic Binding Bricks, which came in four-stud and eight-stud sizes. The bricks were largely ignored by the market while other plastic-based toys, like “Trackto” – a plastic tractor model that children were required to build before it could be played with – sold well.
By 1951, Ole Kirk’s son Godtfred was in charge of the company and presided over several key decisions that spurred the company on its path to success. Several different sizes of LEGO bricks were created, and all sizes were redesigned to allow them to snap and stay together more easily. These design changes were eventually patented in 1961. The final piece of the puzzle was the development of LEGO systems that were capable of being interconnected with one another. The first “system” from The LEGO Group was a Town Plan that included individual sets for houses, factories, shops, and accessories like trees, vehicles, and street signs.
The rest, as they say, is history. With demand for LEGO bricks increasing, the company eventually stopped producing all other products. The 1960s saw the introduction of the LEGO wheel, allowing for movable creations, as well as the introduction of motorized components. Highlights from the 1970s include the first LEGO people and DUPLO - oversized bricks aimed at preschoolers.
As a result of all this innovation, the LEGO Group has grown to become one of the top toy companies in the world. LEGO bricks have become ingrained in popular culture, and LEGO sets enjoy an estimated five billion hours of playtime each year.
Hagar’s history lesson begins at the turn of the 20th century with Ole Kirk Christiansen. A carpenter by trade, Christiansen founded The LEGO Group in 1932 in the small Denmark town of Billund (where LEGO’s head office is still located today). The company initially developed wooden toys, including yo-yos, and became a family affair – all four of Ole Kirk’s sons worked there.
The Great Depression and several factory fires eventually saw the company move away from wood and turn exclusively to injection-molding and plastic toys. The first glimpse of LEGO as we know it today came in 1949 with the release of Automatic Binding Bricks, which came in four-stud and eight-stud sizes. The bricks were largely ignored by the market while other plastic-based toys, like “Trackto” – a plastic tractor model that children were required to build before it could be played with – sold well.
By 1951, Ole Kirk’s son Godtfred was in charge of the company and presided over several key decisions that spurred the company on its path to success. Several different sizes of LEGO bricks were created, and all sizes were redesigned to allow them to snap and stay together more easily. These design changes were eventually patented in 1961. The final piece of the puzzle was the development of LEGO systems that were capable of being interconnected with one another. The first “system” from The LEGO Group was a Town Plan that included individual sets for houses, factories, shops, and accessories like trees, vehicles, and street signs.
The rest, as they say, is history. With demand for LEGO bricks increasing, the company eventually stopped producing all other products. The 1960s saw the introduction of the LEGO wheel, allowing for movable creations, as well as the introduction of motorized components. Highlights from the 1970s include the first LEGO people and DUPLO - oversized bricks aimed at preschoolers.
As a result of all this innovation, the LEGO Group has grown to become one of the top toy companies in the world. LEGO bricks have become ingrained in popular culture, and LEGO sets enjoy an estimated five billion hours of playtime each year.
February 11, 2017
Always getting request for LEGO books in the library. This is a great one that encourages children to use their creative minds and see what they come up with!
April 22, 2016
In this 48 page book readers will learn about how Legos came to be the favorite toy for millions that they are today. The facts are written in an easy to understand way with plenty of pictures throughout as well.
I was impressed with this book...it's format, illustrations, the information presented. This is a great nonfiction read for children in the intermediate grades (3rd--5th). You are sure to learn a thing or two at least by reading this book!
This book was sent to me by the publisher DuoPress for my honest review. Thank you.
August 26, 2016
The bright colors and almost comic-book style of the illustrations evoke the playfulness of Lego, the world's best toy. I learned a lot from this book, not just about the history of the company, but also about the thought process that went into making it so universally classic and popular. For example, the inventors considered it important that Lego be part of a "system" so that every Lego brick and set interfaces with every other Lego product. I'm not sure of the age range target for this book--fourth grade and higher is my best guess, but it might depend on the motivation of the reader.
October 10, 2016
THIS IS NOT A COMMERCIAL! Erin Hagar does and excellent job of explaining the lives and ingenuity of the inventors of the Ole Kirk Christiansen and his son Godtfred. This is a very readable book and students (and adults) in intermediate grades will enjoy the creative rise of the Lego Toys company and continuing development of the Lego bricks. Adults will admire the dedication to a fine product ad the business acumen of its founders.
November 6, 2020
This biography is an interesting and engaging book about how LEGOS came to be. The pages are filled with colorful illustrations that go with the informational text of interesting facts. It goes into detail about the family, what led them to create LEGOS and their challenges. I think is a great book for students to read for their own interests. It is a simple narrative story to follow for students,
April 24, 2016
A terrific and inspiring story, telling how a toy that seems like it has been around forever really came to be. Kids and adults alike will be fascinated by the real people behind the Lego brick "systems" and the inventive risk-taking that it took to bring them into being.
August 31, 2016
A fun, advanced easy reader that could be great for kids. Gr. 1-3 working on a lego project. Solid facts in an interesting format with engaging illustrations! Could pair well with the Brick by Brick documentary.
September 27, 2019
Who doesn’t love Lego bricks? I appreciate the organization of this book. It offered lots of information about Lego as well as the inventor and his family. Lots of additional facts can be found in the sidebars. As a teacher there is a lot I can use this book for in the classroom.
September 17, 2016
Jude's first nonfiction read aloud. :)
Since the LEGO brickumentary is probably his favourite movie right now, this was an appropriate choice. It's so interesting to follow his interests!
Since the LEGO brickumentary is probably his favourite movie right now, this was an appropriate choice. It's so interesting to follow his interests!
November 25, 2016
Fascinating; can't imagine a world without LEGO toys!
January 6, 2017
This terrific little book tells all about how Legos got invented and how the company got to where it is today. Super interesting.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews