BOOK REVIEWS
The latest releases for curious minds
addingtothispollution,andlovelyillustrations
tohammerhomehowanimalsliketurtlesand
dolphinscanbeinjuredbyplasticintheoceans.
It’snotsurprisingtoseelessonslikethese
includedinmodernbooksforchildren,as
they’reessentialtopicsforever ygeneration
learn,butit’sstillpraiseworthytoseeit dea
withinsucha well-consideredway.
Thoseillustrationscontinuethroughoutt
book.Whilefairlysimple,thest yliseddesig
reallyeye-catching,andpairedwiththebr
coloursandthesheeramountofstuffoneve
page,therereallyisplent ytolookat– andlo
detailstospot.
Witha littlemoreinformationabouta few
thefeaturedinventionsthiswould’vebeen
easiertorecommend.Asit is,it’sstilla great
introtothehistor yofscienceforyoungread- perfectforenquiringminds.
F
or youngkids
place, filledw
why theyhav
things around them
quench that thirstforknowledge,thishistoryof
important inventions will help. Covering
ever y thing from the wheel to the latest
developments in computing, it whizzes through
thousands of years in just over 30 pages.
The histor y here is definitely aimed at younger
children – it’s perfect for readers aged seven and
up – and the writing is suitably basic. It doesn’t
go into huge detail on each topic, just giving a
brief over v iew of each invention and explaining
why they were so significant. That will probably
be enough for many young readers, but some
may come away wanting more. There’s a handy
glossar y at the back of the book that will help
explain some of the terms found, but there’s still
plent y of room for youngsters to find out more
about a subject that’s inspired them.
A nd there are sure to be some of those. The
book groups inventions together, like showing
the evolution of navigation from stargazing to
GPS, or the path from steam power to renewable
sources like solar and wind. A particular
highlight is the page on plastics, which briefly
shows why they were thought to be such an
incredible invention at first before explaining
how they’re damaging the env ironment and
pollutingtheseas.Therearetipsonhowtoavoidnerallywe’dexpectmostscientific
akthroughstobetheresultofmany
ursofpainstakingresearch.While this is
enthecase,sprinkledthroughouthistor y
rearealsoa numberofdiscoveries that
reinitiallylittlemorethanunexpected
e-effects,buthavebecomeinfluential in
irow nright.
Bothw rittenandillustratedbyA my
abrou x,thisbooktalksusthroughthe
cessesthatledtothediscoveriesof
thingslikematches,X-rays,superglue and
more.Whilethechaptersarerelatively brief,
a sufficientamountofinformationis
impartedthatmeansreadersshouldgain a
decentunderstandingofthesubjectmatter.
Whilethisisn’tthemostin-depthbook on
the topic that we’ve seen – and the multiple
Wikipedia articles in the bibliography don’t
exactly scream ‘thorough research’ – there’s
still a lot to like about this passion project,
andit remains a worthwhile endeavour in
oureyes090 How It Works m
aimed at younger
children”
uthor: Amy Chabroux
ublisher: Independently published
rice: £10.23 / $12.99
elease: Out nowarvellousmishaps
releasesfor curious minds
the worldissucha magical
withendlessunknowns.It’s
esomanyquestionsaboutthe
m. A ndfor parents looking toGen
bre
hou
ofte
the
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side
the
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Cha
pro
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here is definitely
QA
QP
QP
QRMa
The
Story of
Inventions
A journey through
time to discover the
most world-changing
discoveriesnto
altthe
gn is
ight
ery
otsofwof
even
t
dersoureyes.http://www.howitworksdaily.comAccidental
Scientific
Discoveries
That Changed
The World
Q Author: Catherine Barr and Steve Williams
Q Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Q Price: £12.99 / $15.89
Q Release: Out now