A Maker's Dozen

“Making” and “makerspaces” are popular buzz words in schools and libraries and for good reason. “Making” is a hands-on activity that encourages exploration and investigation. “Makerspaces” are spaces that provide children or adults a variety of open-ended materials with which to experiment and create. A makerspace can be high tech and include things like 3D printers, laptops, tablets, materials for coding, etc. or it could be low tech and include arts and crafts supplies, recycled materials, tools, building materials, LEGOs, etc. Whether high tech or low tech, one thing that should not be overlooked is books. Books not only serve as a source of information, they also have the potential to inspire and provoke meaningful maker experiences. Read on for reviews of some great picture books that inspire making and are available through the Mercer County Library System.

The Most Magnificent Thing

The Most Magnificent Thing, created by award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires, is about a little girl and her best friend in the whole wide world, her dog. One day she has the wonderful idea to create “the most MAGNIFICENT thing” and, because she is an avid maker, she believes it will be quite easy to do. She sets right to work and upon completion of her creation, she is astonished to discover that not only isn’t it magnificent, “It isn’t even kind-of-sort-of okay. It is all WRONG.” She tosses her creation aside and starts on a new one, but it’s still wrong! She tries again and again, leaving a variety of contraptions in her wake, but none of them are magnificent. With each new non-magnificent creation, she is becoming more and more frustrated, as evidenced by her facial expressions and the black scribbles above her head, until she finally explodes in anger and gives up. She then goes for a walk with her dog and, little by little, “the mad gets pushed out of her head.” She also begins to see her inventions from a fresh perspective. She realizes that each contraption has its merits and by taking bits and pieces from each one, she is finally able to make “the most MAGNIFICENT thing.”

Not a Box  

Written and illustrated by Annette Portis, this book celebrates a rather underrated item – a basic cardboard box. But wait, it’s not a box! It’s a pirate ship! It’s a car! It’s a rocket! It’s whatever you can imagine! Throughout 32 pages, a rabbit shows the many things that a box could be while insisting that “It’s not a box!” I love the simple line-drawn illustrations in this book. They perfectly reflect the simplicity of a cardboard box. The rabbit and the box are drawn in black and color is added to represent the rabbit’s imaginative ideas for the box. This book celebrates children’s imaginative spirit and inspires readers to come up with their own ideas for making a box into more than a box.

Too Many Toys

Spencer has too many toys and his mother insists that he get rid of some. Spencer is heartbroken and can’t bring himself to part with any of his toys, even the broken ones. After much negotiation, he and his mother finally fill a box with toys to get rid of and she goes to have a much-needed cup of tea. When she returns, she discovers all the toys from the box dumped on the floor and Spencer says “You were right, Mom! I do have too many toys. But we can’t give away this box…It’s the best toy EVER!” The final page shows Spencer sitting in the box that he has made into a spaceship.

I love this book because it shifts the focus from the “stuff” to the possibility of what can be created, what can be imagined. I think that’s a significant message, especially in this day and age of high-tech educational toys. It’s important to remember that children don’t learn from toys, they learn from experiences, from interactions, and hands-on activities. Can toys and other materials help create engaging experiences? Of course. But the focus shouldn’t be on the stuff, it should be on creating an inspiring atmosphere that encourages exploration and creativity.

What Do You Do With An Idea?

This bestseller and award-winning book shows that an idea shouldn’t be ignored. We all have ideas, but oftentimes we push them aside as too big or too little or too challenging. We think that our idea won’t be enough to change something or perhaps we think it’s too grand to accomplish. Many of us are quite good at coming up with reasons why our ideas won’t work, but what if we were to ignore those reasons and give life to our ideas? What if we ignored the naysayers and gave our ideas room to grow? What would happen? Something amazing! Kobi Yamada’s book inspires readers to acknowledge and nurture their ideas. It shows the importance of confidence and standing behind your ideas.

Ada Twist, Scientist

Written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts, the creators of Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer, Ada Twist, Scientist, is the story of a little girl named Ada Marie. Like Albert Einstein, Ada did not say a word until she was three and when she finally did speak, just like Einstein, her first word was “Why?” “Why?” was quickly followed by “What?”, “How?” and “When?” Little Ada was full of questions and as she grew, her many questions and her experiments to answer those questions kept her parents and teacher on their toes. “What would they do with this curious kid who wanted to know what the world was about?”

I love this book for many reasons. I love that the main character is female as there is a marked gender gap in the sciences. I love that she is depicted as African American as people of color are sorely underrepresented in picture books. I love that she questions everything because that is an important trait for any great scientist (maker, researcher, critical thinker, etc.), but I especially love her parents’ response to her curiosity – “We’ll figure it out. And that’s what they did – because that’s what you do when your kid has a passion and a heart that is true.” Parents should nurture their children’s curiosity. They should encourage their passions and help them investigate their questions. If you’re the parent of a curious child (as most children are), you should let them make. Make discoveries. Make messes. Make mistakes. Make connections. Make learning fun!  Ada Twist, Scientist is a great book for encouraging young children to do just that.

Beautiful Oops

Beautiful Oops!, written and illustrated by Barney Saltzberg, is a fun book full of mistakes. Each mistake – a torn or bent piece of paper, a smudge, a spill, is presented as an opportunity. A serendipitous chance to create something unexpected. This award-winning book offers an enjoyable tactile experience and an awesome message. Children enjoy the pop-ups and lifting the flaps to discover how the author has created something wonderful out of a mistake. It’s inspiring to see how mistakes can lead to artistic experimentation and the chance to make something amazing and unexpected. The 28-page book is recommended for children ages 3-8, but the message is valuable to anyone that could use a reminder that mistakes can present new possibilities.

Awesome Dawson

Awesome Dawson, created by Chris Gall, is a maker. He makes furniture, toys, inventions and more out of recycled materials. Dawson’s motto is “EVERYTHING can be used again!” He works on his inventions in his underground workshop, but his mother keeps interrupting him to have him do chores. This inspires him to create a robot called the Vacu-Maniac to do his chores for him. Unfortunately, the Vacu-Maniac lives up to his names and proceeds to suck up everything in sight, growing bigger and bigger until it busts through his house and goes on a rampage through town. Awesome Dawson saves the day using his rubber-band-powered airplane and with the help of his friend Mooey, a talking cow head with interchangeable bodies. From that point on, Dawson promises to use his maker abilities only for the good of humankind. This is a fun book for aspiring inventors.

If I Built a Car

In this award-winning 2007 book, author and illustrator Chris Van Dusen introduces us to a little boy named Jack who has wild ideas for his ultimate fantasy car.

“A car that smells GOOD? Now that’s something new. But if I built a car, that’s just what I’d do. Inside the engine, I’ll add a machine to capture the odor of burnt gasoline and change it to something more pleasing to noses – like blueberry muffins or freshly picked roses.”

The rhyming text is bouncy and fun, and the illustrations are vibrant and eye-catching. Children will also enjoy Van Dusen’s follow-up, If I Built a House which showcases Jack’s creativity as he builds his dream house, complete with gigantic slide!

Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea: How a Science Project Helps One Family and the Planet

This is the fictional story of Iqbal, a young boy living in Bangladesh. It is monsoon season, which means that Iqbal’s mother has to cook indoors over an open fire, creating smoke that makes his mother and baby sister Rupa sick. Iqbal comes up with the idea to make a smoke-free stove for his school’s science project.

Author Elizabeth Suneby and illustrator Rebecca Green have created an inspiring book with a cultural twist. It opens children up to the world around them and it teaches them to recognize a need that can be filled with ingenuity and creativity. There’s even a “do-it-yourself” section that provides directions for kids to make their own solar cooker using a pizza box.

Doll-E 1.0

In Doll-E 1.0, by Shanda McCloskey, we meet Charlotte, a precocious maker. Charlotte can be found “tinkering, toggling, coding, downloading” with her faithful dog by her side. She is a tech-wiz and often helps her parents with their various technological gadgets. But then she’s given something that she doesn’t quite know what to do with – a doll. Initially she has no interest in the doll, but after discovering its battery pack, and with a little ‘help’ from her dog, Charlotte reconfigures the doll to create the new and improved Doll-E 1.0! This is an engaging story for preschoolers and early elementary age children that inspires kids to see the possibility in items they may have otherwise dismissed. The 40-page book published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers, perfectly blends high-tech play with old-fashioned, hands-on play.

The Dot

Written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, this bestseller tells the story of Vashti, a frustrated grade-school artist. She sits staring at a blank piece of paper and proclaims, “I just CAN’T draw!” Her teacher offers this wise bit of advice, “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.” Still feeling uninspired, Vashti jabs at her paper in frustration, leaving a simple dot behind. Her teacher encourages her to sign her name and take ownership of her creation, even if it is just a dot. Vashti then goes on to create more and more elaborate dots and finds her voice as an artist. This small book is a motivational gem. I love that it inspires artistic expression, but more so, that it encourages children to take ownership and be proud of what they make. It inspires them to make their mark!

Made By Maxine

Maxine is a maker. She loves creating new things out of old things and believes, “If I can dream it, I can make it!” She’s made spectacular inventions for her goldfish, Milton, and is excited to bring him to school for the class Pet Parade. “But Milton’s spectacular tank was also spectacularly heavy.” Maxine tried and tried to make a portable tank for Milton, but each idea was a flop. She was about to give up when she realized that, “she had already discovered a million ways that would not work. Which meant she was getting closer to finding a way that would.” Great new book by Ruth Spiro, the author of the popular Baby Loves Science series, which reminds kids that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!


Make your way to the library to check out these great books and many other inspiring stories!

- Chrissy Holcombe, Hickory Corner