Eureka! Poems About Inventors
Illustrated by K. Bennett Chavez
, Millbrook Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780761316657. Ages 10 and up
A Length of Pink Ribbon
The problem was air—we hadn’t any.
Encased in corsets of whalebone and steel,
how could we breathe?
And without breath, how could
we think? Run? Laugh? Dance?
It was a cage.
One night, I stepped out.
With a length of pink ribbon
and two handkerchiefs of silk,
I fashioned my own freedom.
From bras to chocolate, from hot air balloons to the worldwide web, history is full of remarkable inventions. With these evocative poems, go back in time to catch a range of inventors just as they experienced their “Aha!” moment. Some of their inventions saved lives (Marie Curie) and others made life easier (dishwasher) or more fun (Frisbee). But whoever they were and whatever they created, these innovators saw the world differently, and chased a dream to a place no one had even been before.
“The entire book reads beautifully as one amazing journey from before recorded time to the present.”
School Library Journal
“This elegant volume of poems about inventors is an example of creavity well applied. “
Riverbank Review
“Celebrating that combination of creative insight and steadfastness that characterizes the successful inventor.”
Booklist
Resources
How this book began . . .
One day on a walk, I noticed a maple seed spinning in the air—the ones we sometimes call "helicopters.” I picked up the seed, noted its blade-like shape, and wondered if the inventor of the helicopter got the idea from watching a falling maple seed. In fact, where DID all those inventive ideas come from? After some research, I discovered a fascinating breed of people who, throughout history, were driven by their own dreams to create new ways of doing things. I loved getting inside their brains, trying to understand them, and writing from their point of view.