The Invention Hunters Discover How Light Works

by Korwin Briggs

Overview

"The love child of David Macaulay and Captain Underpants" (Kirkus), this hilarious kid-friendly guide to the science and physics of light explains prisms, magnifying glasses, TV screens, and more.

The Invention Hunters travel the globe in their flying museum collecting the world's greatest inventions! This time, they've landed at an elementary school's science lab, and these silly scientists think they've collected incredible specimens of banjos, flowerpots, and even a yeti's tooth. But what they really discover — with a kid as their guide — is how prisms, magnifying glasses, cameras, and TV screens use light to work!

Using simple explanations and diagrams, and a heaping helping of humor, the Invention Hunters make the perfect companions for curious kids who are ready to learn about science, physics, engineering, history, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316467964
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Series:	Invention Hunters Series , #3
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	223,238
Product dimensions:	8.75(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Korwin Briggs is a writer and illustrator who makes books, comics, and infographics about history and science. He's also the author and illustrator of Gods and Heroes: Mythology Around the World and a webcomic, Veritable Hokum. He lives in Queens, New York, and he invites you to visit his website at KorwinBriggs.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Invention Hunters Discover How Machines Work:

* "Like...David Macaulay and Captain Underpants, this routinely silly, genuinely intelligent deep dive into engineering basics leaves kids as informed as they are amused." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The text and illustrations succeed in grabbing the readers' attention because of the vivid colors and spirit of fun. The characters are quirky and silly, making this nonfiction book about simple machines...engaging." —School Library Connection

From the Publisher

06/01/2020

PreS-Gr 3—In this third installment of a four-book series, the Invention Hunters, scientists who travel the world collecting its greatest inventions to put in their museum, travel to a school and encounter a young girl who attempts to showcase her extensive knowledge of how light works. However, these scientists remain clueless despite the girl's straightforward explanations of how a prism, magnifying glass, crayons, cameras, and TV screens work. Fortunately, readers do not. The goofy, confused Invention Hunters are a sharp contrast to the knowledgeable young student, who shares diagrams, interesting facts, an illustrated time line, and clear information. This makes the text amusing, appealing, and instructive. VERDICT This book is perfect for young readers who like their science with a smile.—Myra Zarnowski, City Univ. of New York

School Library Journal

2020-03-25
The troupe of wacky, peripatetic invention collectors returns for a fourth adventure.

Having in previous episodes failed to comprehend machines, electricity, and sound (each explained with infinite patience by the children they encountered), four doofus scientists now crash their flying Museum of Inventionology outside an elementary school in order to investigate light. After storming the nearest classroom, they surprise a bespectacled kid, who patiently explains what a prism, magnifying glass, crayon, camera, and television are, respectively. As the child talks, the explanations scaffold upon one another. In one instance the discussion of how a prism bends light leads naturally into a talk about how a magnifying glass changes how that light does or does not come together. Each explanation is accompanied by supporting information, examples, diagrams, and historical notes with dates. Alas, by the end the Invention Hunters are no wiser than they were when they began, but young readers may have reaped the benefits. Silly art and jokes abound, perhaps to a lesser extent than in previous outings. Still, with adults as cheerfully clueless as these, it’s hard not to want to see them louse up more kinds of science in the future. The Invention Hunters are diverse; their patient guide in this title has pale skin and straight, black hair.

Readers will cheer the return of these merry, lab-coated schlemiels. (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews