Temple Grandin wrote this book to curious children with a desire to become inventors. This book covers areas of flight, optical illusions, things made of wood, things made of paper, pulleys and levers, etc. There are a series of projects for each area interspersed with simple biographies of inventors and their inventions. She also reflects on her life experiences and the road she traveled in becoming an inventor herself. There are pictures of famous patents and projects, as well as Temple’s blueprints, patents, and pictures from her life. This is an upbeat book with an encouraging tone for future inventors.

While at times it is a bit choppy and some of the projects are perhaps a bit outdated, the details she put into the inventors is just the right amount. The science is explained clearly with the audience level in mind. The biggest message she gets across is that inventing take trial and error, creativity, persistence, and hard work.

Review of an Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Philomel

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  Reference to throwing water bomb at sister; reference to scientists in Europe who were killed trying to replicate an electric experiment.

Sex/Nudity: None

Mature Subject Matter:

None

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None