INCREDIBLE INVENTIONS

This compendium of small poems about common inventions will entertain and inform a wide span of age groups, either as a read-aloud, read-together or read-alone. From jigsaw puzzles (invented in 1766) and the drinking straw to crayons and the running shoe, each well-chosen piece, all from different poets and arranged chronologically, presents readers young and old with some interesting and surprising facts about everyday objects. Most poems follow rhyming patterns, one is a haiku and several imitate the shapes of the objects they describe. Although the font may be a touch too small for the youngest readers, the rhymes and rhythms will appeal to all. Sarcone-Roach provides active, splashy illustrations on every page that unify the book visually and contribute their own humorous touches. Hopkins adds a mini-biography for each invention at the end of the book, and these contain some surprises too. Both an easy introduction to nonfiction for young children and a fund of interesting trivia for older readers. (Picture book/poetry. 5-12)