Reinventing Invention: A Crayola Guide to Innovation

Gr 3-6–Boothroyd highlights notable inventors and inventions, with a splash of color on every page. Some of the people are very familiar, such as Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. Some inventors are lesser-known. Lonnie G. Johnson, a Black American rocket scientist for NASA, invented the Super Soaker water gun. Cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith, white Americans, were the fathers of the Crayola crayon. Each invention or inventor is described in two pages. The layout features facts in bubbles or starburst shapes and a photograph of the inventor. Some pages show a diagram of the innovation. A short glossary and a “Learn More” page, which lists web links, are included. Overall, this colorful text shares many interesting facts. Each section is a general introduction to the spotlighted topic.