Steven Caney's Invention Book

by Steven Caney

Kids are natural inventors, bursting with notions so crazy they just might work. Chester Greenwood was just a boy when his big cold ears prompted him to fashion wire and fur into the world's first earmuffs. Caney shows how to get into "an inventing frame of mind" and how to look at everyday objects in new ways, as clues to fresh ideas.

From keeping a good notebook to setting up a workshop, from building the prototype to applying for a patent, Steven Caney covers it all, even showing the young entrepreneur how to market an invention successfully.

To get the creativity flowing, here are also hundreds of fantasy ideas that still need to be everything from a temperature-regulating straw to sunburn alarm tabs. There are also extensive plans for twenty projects kids can build from ordinary household items. And to demonstrate the many sources of creative thinking, Caney tells the stories behind 25 landmark American inventions. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Suitable for ages 8-13. 215,000 copies in print.

Genres: Science, Childrens, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an 0lder book, copyright 1985, and written for a school-age audience and 0lder, but nonetheless, a great timeless collection of stories about how things were invented. The stories include: drive-in movies, frisbee, band-aid, levi's pants, dixie cups, milk bottles, the zipper, teabags, scotch tape, sneakers, roller blades, the ballpoint pen, the xerox machine, kodachrome color film. There are many fun photographs and illustrations. I was very amused by the "Fantasy Notebook" section of each chapter that dreamed up future inventions, many of which are now reality - 35 years later. For example, in the earmuffs chapter - Caney dreams up body gauge jewelery - displaying body temperature, sleep requirements on a watch or pendant. In the trampoline chapter, he illustrates a trampoline that lets you body surf on pressurized air currents. I have done this with indoor skydiving. In the dixie cups chapter. a germ eraser - a specially treated dusting cloth that also eliminates germs. Milk bottle chapter - a sink faucet carbonation: press a button to get carbonated tap water. Instantly make soda and other drinks. And many more that have not become reality. It also walks through the stages of invention. The graphics are 95% white men and boys, but hey, that was the time.