The Invention Hunters Discover How Machines Work

April 1, 2019
How do you teach kids about pulleys, wedges, cranks, and levers (to say nothing of physics and engineering)? Tell a tale of goofball invention collectors, of course! A kid testing a homemade rocket launcher runs into a troupe of adults on the hunt for cool things to put in their Museum of Inventionology. With every discovery they make at the construction site they explore, be it wheelbarrow, jackhammer, or crane, they indulge in wild speculation as to what the object is only to be corrected by the kid. Each correction not only includes diagrams on how the object works, but also its history and the science behind its success. By the end, though, the hunters are no wiser; they feature wildly inaccurate explanations of their acquisitions in their museum. Jovial and goofy, the multiracial pack of men and women come across as nothing so much as a troupe of scientifically inclined Amelia Bedelias with lab coats instead of aprons. (Their kid guide presents white.) Kids will laugh uproariously--not just at their mistakes, but from the profusion of toilet gags and diagrams (with a dead fish named "Mrs. Bubbles" standing in for fecal matter). The trick is in realizing that while the book is funny, the science is sound. Like the love child of David Macaulay and Captain Underpants, this routinely silly, genuinely intelligent deep dive into engineering basics leaves kids as informed as they are amused. (Informational picture book. 6-9)

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July 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 3-This story, self-described as "informational fiction," follows a group of quirky invention hunters as they stumble upon some everyday items like a wheelbarrow, a crane, and a toilet. Having never seen these items before, the hunters make wildly incorrect guesses as to what they actually do. A young boy follows them around, explains how each object works, and offers a brief history of how it evolved over time. The comic book-style illustrations and short text bubbles will appeal to reluctant readers. The group of invention hunters, who include women and people of color, come up with some ridiculous hypotheses for the various machines, which are sure to get some laughs. The brief histories, factoids, and illustrations of historical machines are well researched and explained in a way that is both entertaining and easy to understand for a grade school audience. Author/illustrator Briggs worked with a researcher and an educator to ensure that the facts were accurate and the book was developed with an educational perspective in mind. VERDICT The balance of the fantastical story with scientific and historical facts makes this a good title to recommend to fiction and nonfiction readers alike. A solid addition for medium to large collections.-Kristin Williamson, Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma

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