So You Want to Be an Inventor?

by Judith St. George

St. George and Small, the Caldecott Medal-winning team who created So You Want to Be President? , are back with another spirited and witty look at history-this time focusing on the inventors and inventions who have given us lightbulbs, automobiles, and all the other things that keep the world humming.

So You Want to Be an Inventor? features some of the world's best-known inventors-Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Eli Whitney-as well as lesser-known geniuses like Georges de Mestral (inventor of Velcro), Wilhelm Roentgen (inventor of X rays), and Hedy Lamarr (inventor of a system that became the basis for satellite communication-who knew?). Whether you're a dreamer or a loner, a copycat or a daredevil, this book might just inspire readers to invent something that could change the world!

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Picture Books, History, Childrens, Humor, Biography

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book to get highlights of various inventions and their curious, quirky, dangerous and/or genius ways they came to be. A good springboard for getting into biographies and inventions!

Includes a bio list at the end which is helpful!

Ages: 6 - 12

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Trần Quốc Tuấn · Rating 4 out of 5]

tranh đẹp lắm <3

[The Hofs · Rating 5 out of 5]

While hiking in a remote part of Italy recently, our host mentioned that the burrs native to the area were the inspiration to the creation of Velcro. The freshman college Bio major piped up, “I read about that in that picture book So You Want to be an Inventor!” I am constantly amazed at what is retained from picture books! Well done!!

[Hyeryeong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introducing various inventors, such as those who invented by accident or for their own comfort or by creative ideas, etc. And telling to readers how come they made their inventions. It is good time to change the reading topic from fiction to non-fiction which could appeal to boys more than girls. And this story might broaden kid’s imagination and their dreams. This book encourages the readers to be an inventor by giving examples of people who invented amazing things by accident or sudden thoughts. Teachers should teach every kinds of topics in order to show students wide new worlds. Mostly kids start to read fiction first but this book can be a good chance to change that. However, this topic, like scientific plots are not really interesting to girls so it is a little bit hard to motivate girl’s attention.

[Oak Lawn Public Library - Youth Services · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: So You Want to Be an Inventor
Author: Judith St. George
Pages: 53
Lexile Level: 910
5 out of 5 stars
The author takes you through this book and talks about over forty different inventors. Inventors as children, like Benjamin Franklin, who invented swimming paddles for his hands and feet. Inventors with brothers, like David Bushnell who created a submarine during the Revolutionary War. Female inventors like Josephine Cochran, who in 1886, created that first dishwasher and Hedy Lamarr who came to the US from Austria right before World War II and helped to invent a system for guiding torpedoes by radio signals. If you’re looking for a book about different ways inventors and their inventions came about, then check this out.
Reviewed by: Amberleigh B.

[Emily Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This non-fiction book is full of facts on inventors, some famous and some I had never even heard of. Not only is this book informational but it is also encouraging. So You Want to Be an Inventor would be a great book for children of all ages, it encourages children to push the limits of what they know, to take risks, to try and try again even if they fail. The illustrations in this book really help tie the story together and give details on what the author is saying. I would recommend this book especially for children who love to create things and think outside the box.

[Shaema Samia Imam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice illustrations and showed characteristics of inventors. However all examples of inventors were White of European background. All 30plus pages had Male inventors except on one page. Feeling kind of done with such a narrow male Eurocentric focus. Also I guess who gets to "invent" AND who gets credit is related to social priviledge... Hopefully more diverse inventors will be featured as the playing field levels.

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done! This was fun to read out loud. It kind of reminds me of a Ripley's book in that it lists off inventors and fun facts about them, except that each page encourages kids in a different way to chase their dreams. There was more advice than I expected. It was a nice overview of famous inventions and the stories behind them. (Don't expect the stories to be comprehensive, though. The heart of this book is to be encouraging, not so much to teach facts.)

[Jody Kyburz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can be read in one sitting or broken up if desired. Lots of cool, easy details, facts, and interesting tidbits about some of our famous (including those who invented it first but missed the fame, glory, and patent) inventions.

[Alexis Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this book presents information, and the pictures really enhance the story and make it interesting. Plus, the information is accurate and the theme of the book is really encouraging. Great read.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun picture book that cruises through a bunch of different inventors and their inventions. It ends with a great message about how anyone could be break barriers and change the world, it just takes some passion and heart.

I'll definitely be reading this out loud to my kiddos.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book there a lot different example of people who invented different things that we used every day. Some has done a great job but some failed. But no one story trying!! This book is full of life stories and things to learn!!

[Betsy Ellor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have now read this to my six-year-old 5 times and even though it's long he loves every minute. Such a great way to introduce young people to the struggles of inventing and also to history. I loved it.

[Clara McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the same author who wrote "So You Want to Be President?" and that was one of my favorite books growing up. This would be a good book to read if you're doing a science unit on inventions and students could choose a favorite inventor to write about or come up with their own invention.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and fun!

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting piece that highlights creativity.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minimal useful information on inventing even for the age bracket at which it is aimed. Lacking in diversity of the inventors mentioned.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book that goes through so many facets of inventing and tidbits on so many inventors.

[Becca Bankston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book for its creativity. I leveled it using DRA (38) and Guided Reading (P). I would say the traits would be Word Choice and Ideas.

[Ellen Shackley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Informational

Summary: This is an informational picture book that give a brief history of the many inventions that helped to shape our society as well as the people that invented them. It gives a basic outline for how one might become an inventor.

A. Area of Focus: Organization

B. The author has organized this book in a very interesting and abstract way. She presents the various inventions and their inventors according to the various pieces of advice she gives to help one become an inventor. This type of organization makes the information more relatable to the reader.

C. For example, the piece of advice on page 22 says to not worry if people laugh at you. It then goes on to talk about how the inventor of the steamboat was laughed at because they thought his invention would catch fire and how people had no faith in the man who invented to space rocket. Page 25 says that inventors aren't all men; Josephine Cochran invented the dishwasher and Heddy Lamar invented a system to guide missiles using radio signals in World War II.

Curriculum Connection: I would most likely use this book in a Social Studies lesson on famous inventors/ inventions and to show my students that they can do anything that they set their minds to.

[Katie]

Genre: non-fiction

Number of Pages: 53

Grade level/age: 9-12 years

Theme: science, inventions

Summary:
Meet the inventors of our world! They were all ordinary people until they invented a gadget of some sort that everyone could use. So, do you want to be an inventor?

Personal Response:
This book is very unique. I love the way they introduce a bunch of different inventors while they take you on a journey of how it happens. Most of the time, it's on accident and some never make it past the laboratory. The important thing is though that they tried.

Classroom Use:
One of Fort Myers' main tourist attractions is the Edison Ford Estates. What better inventor to study than Thomas Edison or Mr. Ford? I would plan to take a field trip to this historical site after reading the book, So You Want to be an Inventor. I also found a website with a great lesson plan about inventors and inventions; http://school.discoveryeducation.com/...

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully illustrated non-fiction picture book outlines the inventions of over 40 inventors, from Gutenberg’s printing press to Igor Sikorsky’s helicopter. Each two page spread begins with a statement about inventing, such as “If you want to be an inventor, keep your eyes open!” and “If you want to be an inventor, find a need and fill it.” The text does on to outline the successes, and sometimes failures, of inventors who embody the statement.

The book is rather long, 48 pages plus biographical notes and a bibliography, so it is best read aloud to older elementary school kids (grades 2-5). If you’d like to share it with a younger audience, I suggest reading a page or two each day to spread it out over a few weeks. The illustrations were done with ink, watercolor, and pastel chalk. Small has done a wonderful job of drawing the inventors so that they are easily recognizable, yet his loose and whimsical style is always present.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Gwen Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was clever, well written, and very educational! I learned so much from reading it and I loved it! This is one of those books that you read, and while you're reading you learn a lot, but you don't notice it. It's humorous and colorful, and full of interesting information. It also encourages the reader to use their brains and invent something useful if they want to and can.
The pictures in this book are great. They are super colorful and lively and attractive to the reader. They kind of make caricatures of the various inventors and make their faces and bodies look a little silly, but it is still obvious who they are. There are often pictures of the inventions that each person made on the pages, and descriptions of what they do and how they work.
I think this book is fantastic, not just because it is super entertaining, but because it s really encouraging to the readers. It says that the reader could invent the next big, important thing, and to not let anything get in their way of doing that. Any reader would be happy to read this and feel a bit of pride because of it.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about inventors and how they were dreamers and did not give up their dream to invent what they thought up. This is one of those books that when you read you are like, "I did not know that" or "So that is who invented that." This book has a very impressive list of inventors listed, and it even has them listed in alphabetical order in the biographical notes, dates lived and what they invented. This book is also a great way to introduce inventions to readers in a way that is not boring. The only problem I had with the book was the little blurbs of information on some inventions left you curious about some of the inventions or even the people who copied some inventions. I guess that was the goal, to give you a little piece of information and hope you go ahead and read some more. This is a good start to learning about inventions and inventors overall.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trip down history lane! In reading this book it made me realize how I never have really thought about how the things I use everyday like the computer or my car had to be imagined by someone. Someone somewhere had to step out with a “crazy” idea, fail many times, and in the end accomplish the goal they had set out to.
The bright colors used in the book reflect the books emphasize on thinking out of the box and using one’s imagination.
The illustrator, also, cleverly surrounds each inventor and their invention described in the book with white in order to draw the reader’s attention to them.

[Adrienne Kravchak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: This book gives multiple examples of inventors and their inventions. It starts by talking about a little boy that loves to invent. As the story progresses, each thought about inventing is tied to a different inventor and his/her invention.

Personal Reaction: I really enjoyed the subtle humor and beautiful page covering illustrations. There was a lot of neat information and cute facts. I enjoyed reading about each of the new inventions and the stories behind them.

Intended Audience: Elementary age students

Curriculum Connection: I would use this book when studying inventors. I would also use this book before exploring STEM or engineering activities to get the kids excited.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to introduce children to inventions. Judith St. George takes the reader through history introducing them to over 3 dozen inventors and their inventions. With the colorful and fun illustrations by David Small and by highlighting interesting parts of their story, St. George propels you through what is a lengthy text. While it looks like a picture book, it is targeted at the older grades in elementary school given the large vocabulary and complicated concepts. Each two page spread discusses some of the attributes necessary to be an inventor like "An inventor has to be as stubborn as a bulldog." A great book that I recommend for every library and for readers who tinker!

[Ellen L. Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendid non-fiction book for inspiring kids to think about how inventions are created and what other creative inventions may lie in our future. It's interesting to find out how many things Edison tried in his quest to find the right filament that would glow but not burn up when electricity was passed through it, how Josephine Cochran's invention made kitchen work easier, and the invention that inspired the saying the "real McCoy." And it's fun to hear about the inventions that didn't catch on (e.g., hair cutting machine that burns off hair).

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another inventors book that relates to famous inventors (Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison...) that can relate to students. Students can come up with their own inventions and write about how the process went about and what they had to do in order to be successful with that invention. Or sometimes inventions don't work and they have to try a different method. This can be a great read aloud introducing the inventions unit to students.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good inspiring resource for children to learn who and what caused inventions that improved the lives of man through out history, Alexander gram bell, Leonardo DA Vince, and many other great scientist and problem solvers, and even described how inventions helped and hurt the world or the people who used them . Very informative, and with good resources for kids to learn about history, science, inventions and every aspect of their lives affected by these inventions.