This Book Thinks You're an Inventor

This activity book helps children to think like an inventor by introducing key engineering concepts in a highly visual and entertaining way. Through fun activities and Harriet Russell’s playful illustrations, it encourages readers to engage with new ideas and think about problems in a creative way. The book explores the six key aspects of engineering that are essential to any successful inventor: problem-finding, designing, making and testing, improving your invention, building techniques and how to find new uses for existing objects.

Each spread centres on an open-ended question that introduces a different way of approaching an invention. Activities include making a bridge from toothpicks and mini marshmallows; inventing a way to lift this book without touching it; building a painting robot; designing your own remote control; and harvesting electricity from a banana. At the end of the book is a tinkering lab, which includes paper-based crafts and engineering activities.