This Book Thinks You’re an Inventor

A lot of elementary and middle school students have a lack of confidence in their abilities in the STEM areas. This book opens with a fun quiz to find out what kind of an inventor one is, acting on the assumption that anyone can invent and opening the door to kids who might not otherwise be willing to try inventive activities. This is followed by some ways to get inventive thinking happening and six sections: “Amazing Materials,” “Transportation and Machines,” “At Home,” “AI and Robots,” “Buildings,” and “Helping People and the Planet.” Each of these sections has three to five activities to encourage inventive thinking and get youngsters creating. There are cute illustrations by Harriet Russell that enhance the activities. This is a workbook with lots of room to write and draw printed on heavy stock paper to handle any kind of pens, markers, or paint kids want to use. This book is a great addition to the series, which also has books on being a scientist, a math genius, and an artist. The writing is fun, the illustrations support the text well, and creativity will be unleashed in the youngster lucky enough to get this book.