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Overview
Inventions can be big, like roller coasters, or small, like crayons. And inventors can be scientists or athletes or even boys and girls! It's hard to imagine life without Popsicles, basketball, or Band-Aids, but they all started with just one person and a little imagination.
With sixteen original poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Julia Sarcone-Roach's imaginative artwork, Incredible Inventions celebrates creativity that comes in all shapes and sizes.
What will you invent today?
Synopsis
Inventions can be big, like roller coasters, or small, like crayons. And inventors can be scientists or athletes or even boys and girls! It's hard to imagine life without Popsicles, basketball, or Band-Aids, but they all started with just one person and a little imagination.
With sixteen original poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Julia Sarcone-Roach's imaginative artwork, Incredible Inventions celebrates creativity that comes in all shapes and sizes.
What will you invent today?
Children's Literature
Inventions of interest to children are celebrated in this collection of poetry. Roller coasters, Fig Newtons, escalators, Band-Aids, and Velcro are part of the mix. In the "Ode to Blue Jeans" Rebecca Kai Dotlish begins: "See them strolling in their jeans from subway ads to magazines." The poem by Marilyn Singer, "In Here, Kitty, Kitty," ends with, "Oh, to think he banished stink with tons and tons of Kitty Litter!" At the back of the book short paragraphs about the history of each product are given, along with a time line of when each was invented. The oldest invention (1766) included is the jigsaw puzzle. Modern athletic shoes, devised by a twenty-year-old runner, Philip Hampson ("Buck") Knight, and his coach, Bill Bowerman, at the University of Oregon (1964), is the latest invention cited. In 1972 their company became Nike. Children and parents will enjoy learning about inventors and familiar inventions. Reviewer: Carlee Hallman
Editorials
Children's Literature -
Inventions of interest to children are celebrated in this collection of poetry. Roller coasters, Fig Newtons, escalators, Band-Aids, and Velcro are part of the mix. In the "Ode to Blue Jeans" Rebecca Kai Dotlish begins: "See them strolling in their jeans from subway ads to magazines." The poem by Marilyn Singer, "In Here, Kitty, Kitty," ends with, "Oh, to think he banished stink with tons and tons of Kitty Litter!" At the back of the book short paragraphs about the history of each product are given, along with a time line of when each was invented. The oldest invention (1766) included is the jigsaw puzzle. Modern athletic shoes, devised by a twenty-year-old runner, Philip Hampson ("Buck") Knight, and his coach, Bill Bowerman, at the University of Oregon (1964), is the latest invention cited. In 1972 their company became Nike. Children and parents will enjoy learning about inventors and familiar inventions. Reviewer: Carlee HallmanSchool Library Journal
K-Gr 5
The highlighted inventions in these 16 poems-blue jeans, roller coaster, basketball, and Popsicle, to name a few-have great kid-appeal. Poets such as Joan Bransfield Graham, Kristine O'Connell George, J. Patrick Lewis, and Alice Schertle each single out one invention. Their poetic styles vary from couplets to free verse and concrete poetry. Some poems are pure fun; others are a mix of facts and history. Four pages of informational paragraphs follow the chronologically arranged selections, followed by an illustrated time line. Sarcone-Roach unites the different poems with double-page illustrations, which vary in style from painterly to cartoon. Quick sketches and notes in the margins of the contents page suggest that the inventing is still in progress. This anthology does an excellent job of uniting the creativity of words, art, and innovation. It will spark children's curiosity and hold their interest.-Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH