Review by Booklist Review
As the title suggests, ingenious inventions are the focus of this lively picture-book poetry collection. Contributed by both well-known and emerging poets, the selections represent a wide range of styles, from reflective haikus to high-energy concrete poems. The subjects, drawn from a young person's everyday world, add to the poems' accessibility; Band-Aids, Fig Newtons, blue jeans, Velcro, and jigsaw puzzles are among the creations spotlighted in poems that range in tone. Some are straightforward verse accounts of an object's invention; others are more whimsical, such as Alice Schertle's The Signal's Lament, written from the viewpoint of a traffic light bored with its same trio of colors: I long for magenta, maroon. The mixed-media artwork's well-designed compositions add energy without overwhelming the words, and a final prose section offers further information about each invention. The blend of poetry and technology makes this a natural choice for cross-curricular sharing, and kids will find inspiration in Drew Lamm's reminder that inventions spring from one person wondering on any old day. --Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 5-The highlighted inventions in these 16 poems-blue jeans, roller coaster, basketball, and Popsicle, to name a few-have great kid-appeal. Poets such as Joan Bransfield Graham, Kristine O'Connell George, J. Patrick Lewis, and Alice Schertle each single out one invention. Their poetic styles vary from couplets to free verse and concrete poetry. Some poems are pure fun; others are a mix of facts and history. Four pages of informational paragraphs follow the chronologically arranged selections, followed by an illustrated time line. Sarcone-Roach unites the different poems with double-page illustrations, which vary in style from painterly to cartoon. Quick sketches and notes in the margins of the contents page suggest that the inventing is still in progress. This anthology does an excellent job of uniting the creativity of words, art, and innovation. It will spark children's curiosity and hold their interest.-Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Sixteen poets contemplate sixteen inventions. From haiku-like verse about basketballs to a straw-shaped poem about--you guessed it--straws, Hopkins has selected poems that engagingly relate the stories, or even speak from the points of view, of items whose invention readers may not have contemplated. Sarcone-Roach's acrylic and mixed-media illustrations give the inventions center stage. "Behind the Inventions" provides more information. Timeline. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This compendium of small poems about common inventions will entertain and inform a wide span of age groups, either as a read-aloud, read-together or read-alone. From jigsaw puzzles (invented in 1766) and the drinking straw to crayons and the running shoe, each well-chosen piece, all from different poets and arranged chronologically, presents readers young and old with some interesting and surprising facts about everyday objects. Most poems follow rhyming patterns, one is a haiku and several imitate the shapes of the objects they describe. Although the font may be a touch too small for the youngest readers, the rhymes and rhythms will appeal to all. Sarcone-Roach provides active, splashy illustrations on every page that unify the book visually and contribute their own humorous touches. Hopkins adds a mini-biography for each invention at the end of the book, and these contain some surprises too. Both an easy introduction to nonfiction for young children and a fund of interesting trivia for older readers. (Picture book/poetry. 5-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
