Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane

By Kirsten W. Larson, Illustrated by Tracy Subisak

Emma Lilian Todd’s mind was always soaring–she loved to solve problems. Lilian tinkered and fiddled with all sorts of objects, turning dreams into useful inventions. As a child, she took apart and reassembled clocks to figure out how they worked. As an adult, typing up patents at the U.S. Patent Office, Lilian built the inventions in her mind, including many designs for flying machines. However, they all seemed too impractical.

Lilian knew she could design one that worked. She took inspiration from both nature and her many failures, driving herself to perfect the design that would eventually successfully fly. Illustrator Tracy Subisak’s art brings to life author Kirsten W. Larson’s story of this little-known but important engineer. 7-10 years

Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo daVinci

by Gene Barretta

In 1781, Thomas Paine came up with a model for a single-span bridge. In 1887, Adolf Eugen Fick made the first pair of contact lenses. And in 1907, Paul Comu built the first helicopter. But Leonardo da Vinci thought of all these ideas more than five hundred years ago! At once an artist, inventor, engineer, and scientist, da Vinci wrote and drew detailed descriptions of what would later become hang gliders, automobiles, robots, and much more. In Neo Leo, Gene Barretta shows how Leonardo’s ideas — many inspired by his love of nature — foreshadowed modern inventions, offering a window into the future.

The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth

by Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by George Couch

Plowing a potato field in 1920, a 14-year-old boy from Idaho saw in the parallel rows of overturned earth a way to “make pictures fly through the air.” This boy was not a magician. He was a scientific genius. Just eight years later he made his brainstorm in the potato field a reality. He transmitted the world’s first television image. 

Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor

By Laurie Wallmark, Illustrated by Katy Wu

To her adoring public, Hedy Lamarr was a glamorous movie star, widely considered the most beautiful woman in the world. But in private, she was something more: a brilliant inventor. And for many years only her closest friends knew her secret. Now Laurie Wallmark and Katy Wu tell the story of how, during World War Two, Lamarr developed a groundbreaking communications system that still remains essential to the security of today’s technology.

Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became An Inventor

by Emily Arnold McCully

With her sketchbook labeled My Inventions and her father’s toolbox, Mattie could make almost anything — toys, sleds, and a foot warmer. When she was just twelve years old, Mattie designed a metal guard to prevent shuttles from shooting off textile looms and injuring workers. As an adult, Mattie invented the machine that makes the square-bottom paper bags we still use today.

George Ferris What A Wheel

by Barbara Lowell, Illustrated by Jerry Hoare

Have you ever ridden a Ferris wheel? You can see for miles! But when the inventor of the Ferris wheel, George Ferris, first pitched the idea, everyone thought he was crazy. A 250-foot bicycle wheel that goes around and around and can carry 2,160 people in train size cars at the same time? Can’t be done, they said. But George proved them wrong. Teacher Guide available at: https://barbaralowell.com/teacher-guide-2/

George Crum and the Saratoga Chip

by Gaylia Taylor, Illustrated by Frank Morrison

Who invented the potato chip? George Crum did as a chef in a Saratoga Springs, New York restaurant in 1853. Who knew the potato chip was that old?

Papa’s Mechanical Fish

by Candace Fleming, Illustrated by Boris Kulikov

Clink! Clankety-bang! Thump-whirr! That’s the sound of Papa at work. Although he is an inventor, he has never made anything that works perfectly. That’s because he hasn’t yet found a truly fantastic idea. But when he takes his family fishing on Lake Michigan, his daughter Virena asks, “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a fish? Papa is off to his workshop. With a lot of persistence and a little bit of help, Papa — who is based on the real-life inventor Lodner Phillips — creates a submarine that can take his family for a trip to the bottom of Lake Michigan.

Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine

by Laurie Wallmark, Illustrated by Amy Chu

Ada Lovelace, the daughter of the famous romantic poet, Lord Byron, develops her creativity through science and math. When she meets Charles Babbage, the inventor of the first mechanical computer, Ada understands the machine better than anyone else and writes the world’s first computer program.

Eat My Dust! Henry Ford’s First Race

by Monica Kulling, Illustrated by Richard Walz

It’s 1901 and Henry Ford wants to build a car that everyone can own. But first he needs the money to produce it. How will he get it. He enters a car race, of course!

A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver

by Aliki

Award winning author and illustrator Aliki tells George Washington Carver’s story in this beautifully told and illustrated picture book.

Thomas Edison and His Bright Idea

by Patricia Brennan DeMuth, Illustrated by Jez Tuya

As a curious child who was always asking questions, it’s no wonder Thomas Edison grew up to become a famous, prolific inventor. This easy-to-read nonfiction story follows Edison from his time in school to his career as a full-time inventor. Edison’s discoveries will fascinate and inspire all curious young minds!

Who Were The Wright Brothers?

by James Buckley, Jr., Illustrated by Tom Foley

As young boys, Orville and Wilbur Wright loved all things mechanical. As young men, they gained invaluable skills essential for their success by working with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and any sort of machinery they could get their hands on. The brothers worked together to invent, build, and fly the world’s first successful airplane. These aviation pioneers never lost sight of their dream to fly and to soar higher!

The book descriptions used are primarily from the publishers.

If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and/or leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author

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