Kid Inventors’ Day
The Funtastic Festivity Booklists compile stories that relate to fun and festive days so that readers of all ages can join the celebration with a good book!
Today, January 17, is Kid Inventors’ Day, where we inspire young people’s ideas of ingenuity to come to fruition. Did you know that we have kid inventors to thank for popsicles, trampolines, and even Braille? A popular inventor we celebrate today also was a kid inventor at age 12—Benjamin Franklin, the kid genius behind the swim flippers. It just goes to show that inventions are products that can be imagined and constructed regardless of how old you are. If no ideas come to mind now, a book can be a great place to start. Whether you want to spend the day brainstorming and inventing or reading about kid inventors, enjoy and celebrate this funtastic day today!
Billy Sure Kid Entrepreneur and the Invisible Inventor (Book 8), by Luke Sharpe; illustrated by Graham Ross (Simon & Schuster / Simon Spotlight) — Fiction, Prose, Technology / Inventions, Humor, Series, ages 7-12.
Genius Camp: The Smartest Kid in the Universe (Book 2), by Chris Grabenstein (Random House Books for Young Readers) — Fiction, Prose, Humor, Action / Adventure, How-to / Activity, ages 7-12.
Ingenious Edie, Master Inventor of Tiny Town, by Patrick Corrigan (Nobrow / Flying Eye Books) — Fiction, Picture Book, Technology / Inventions, Animals, Social Emotional Learning, ages 4-6.
The Inventor Vol. 1: The Dangerous Discovery, by Lars Henrik Eriksen (Mad Cave / Papercutz) — Fiction, Graphic Novel, Technology / Inventions, Coming of Age, Action / Adventure, ages 7-12.
Kid Innovators: True Tales of Childhood from Inventors and Trailblazers, by Robin Stevenson; illustrated by Allison Steinfeld (Quirk Books) — Nonfiction, Illustrated Prose, Biography / Memoir, Technology / Inventions, Places / Travel, ages 7-12.
Kid-ventors: 35 Real Kids and their Amazing Inventions, by Kailei Pew; illustrated by Shannon Wright (Macmillan / Feiwel & Friends) — Nonfiction, Illustrated Prose, Biography / Memoir, Technology / Inventions, History, ages 7-12.
The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle: And Other Surprising Stories about Inventions, by Don L. Wulffson (Penguin Random House / Puffin Books) — Nonfiction, Illustrated Prose, Technology / Inventions, History, STEM / STEAM, ages 7-12.
Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions, by Fred Estes (Lerner Publishing Group / Zest Books ™) — Nonfiction, Prose, Technology / Inventions, STEM / STEAM, Social Emotional Learning, Teen.
Vincent Shadow: Toy Inventor, by Tim Kehoe; illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka and Guy Francis (Hachette Book Group / Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) — Fiction, Prose, Action / Adventure, Imagination / Play, Technology / Inventions, ages 7-12.
And here are a few books to celebrate Benjamin Franklin
Ben Franklin Thinks Big (I Can Read Level 2 Series), by Sheila Keenan; illustrated by Gustavo Mazali (HarperCollins) — Nonfiction, Early Reader, Biography / Memoir, Technology / Inventions, History, ages 4-6.
A Ben of All Trades: The Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin, by Michael J. Rosen; illustrated by Matt Tavares (Candlewick Press) — Nonfiction, Picture Book, Biography / Memoir, Technology / Inventions, Sports / Games / Recreation, ages 4-6.
Cheer Up, Ben Franklin!, by Misti Kenison; illustrated by (Sourcebooks / Sourcebooks Explore) — Nonfiction, Board Book, History, Biography / Memoir, Series, ages 0-3.
Celebrate Kid Inventors’ Day by reading a book!
List compiled by CBC’s resident holiday celebrator, Sommer Wissner. Check out other book lists on our blog.
