Book Review: Invented by Animals: Meet the Creatures who Inspired our Everyday Technology by Christiane Dorion, Gosia Herba

Invented by Animals: Meet the Creatures who Inspired our Everyday Technology, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Gosia Herba, is a children's nonfiction book. Often human scientists try and solve a problem or invent a new tool and they realize that animals have already invented it for them. In this book you will meet the animal inventors who have shared their super inventing powers to make amazing things for humans.  Meet the shark who invented a pair of swimming shorts so fast, they were banned from the Olympic games. And meet the snail who has invented a house that stays cool inside even in the desert.   

Invented by Animals is a book that offers readers insight about how animals and nature have inspired inventions and innovation. Many of the facts and stories were something I had read or heard part of before, while some of the information was new to me. I thought the pages were well designed- with small sections of text and plenty of bright illustrations to capture the attention and imagination of readers. The information was well worded, so that it was never condescending nor too complex so the book can appeal to a wide range of readers. This was an interesting and engaging read that would be equally welcome in school, classroom, and personal libraries. 

Book Review: Alan Turing and the Power of Curiosity by Karla Valenti

Alan Turing and the Power of Curiosity by Karla Valenti is a picturebook that combines fact and fiction. One sunny day in June 1912, a new super science hero was born. He hadn't figured out he was a super science hero; though everyone else around him was pretty sure about this early on. His name was Alan Turing. Super Evil Nemesis decides to call on his minion Ms. Deception to confound and confuse Alan—but because Alan likes working on puzzles, he's not easy to defeat. The minion in this book will speak in code (which will read like nonsense). As the story progresses, Alan will crack the code on Ms. D's enigma machine and be able to decipher her speech, which is how he befriends her. At the end of the book, we will provide a decryption key that allows the children to decipher what the minion is saying in earlier pages. This is the (mostly) true story of how Alan Turing had a superpower that helped him become a successful scientist. But, of course, the super power is really something we all have inside of us.

Alan Turing and the Power of Curiosity is a book that shares interesting information on the life and accomplishments of Alan Turning. His work in codes and artificial intelligence has had a great impart on the world. I thought the fictional and fun story about the nemesis trying to stop learning and curiosity is likely to capture and hold the attention of those that might have lost interest in a straight narrative.I thought the illustrations were very well done- and the hidden objects and code on the pages add an extra layer of interest. I also enjoyed that the book offers readers a chance to learn and use codes. I enjoyed the read and found it both interesting and engaging- and I think most readers will agree.

Early Book Review: Inventors: Incredible Stories of the World's Most Ingenious Inventions by Robert Winston

Inventors: Incredible Stories of the World's Most Ingenious Inventions, written by Robert Winston and illustrated by Jessamy Hawke, is currently scheduled for release on July 7 2020. The stories are as unusual as they are unique. From Mr. Kellogg, who accidentally created cornflakes after leaving grains boiling for too long, to the ancient Turkish polymath Ismail al-Jazari, who decided the best way to power a clock was with a model elephant, to Sarah E. Goode's fold-up bed space-saving solution--the inventors of this book have all used tons of creativity to find ways to improve our world. These groundbreaking inventions include the very earliest discoveries to modern-day breakthroughs in science, food, transportation, technology, toys, and more. Illustrations by Jessamy Hawke  and photography highlight the detail of the designs and hand-painted cross-sections reveal the intricacies of a robotic arm, the first plane, and the printing press. The inventors come from all walks of life and parts of the world, making this the perfect book for every budding inventor.

Inventors is a book that features a well rounded selection of inventors and innovators from through out history, and around the world. I like that so many different countries were included and that women and men were included. Some of the inventors were well known to me already, but I was glad to learn a little bit more about them, and learn about those I only vaguely knew about. I really liked learning about the inventors that I knew nothing about, and think that the book does a good job of detailing the lives and innovations of the individuals- giving readers the context to understand the lives they lived, and how that might have impacted the work they did or how hard they had to work for it. I did think that some of the illustrations were very well done, but overall I found that some of the pages were a little busy, with artwork that felt more like extras or doodles than necessary additions. The overall look will appeal to many, but I have to admit that I found it a little distracting.

Inventors is a nicely varied look at inventors from around the world, and through out time. I think it will appeal to interested readers and just might inspire some readers to work on their own ideas.