nerd teacher [books] reviewed I Am Inventing an Invention by Lauren Child (Charlie and Lola, #32)
Cute, but Trite.
3 stars
One of the things I'd personally like to see in children's books is this understanding that we don't have to do things that inherently have to be useful or 'progress' society forward, and that's kind of what's happening here with the inventions.
It's also tied to a school project, so two of the kids are pushed to be creative on a deadline; this is something I'm not fond of. Though, counter to that, the end result of their invention (whether its useful or not) is discovered by accident; I think that underscoring that would make things more interesting because, while a lot of things were figured out through intentional design, I like recognising that accidents can also help us to figure out new information and is a place for learning.
It's trite, though, in that it rehashes a lot of the common understandings of inventing rather than considering that maybe …
One of the things I'd personally like to see in children's books is this understanding that we don't have to do things that inherently have to be useful or 'progress' society forward, and that's kind of what's happening here with the inventions.
It's also tied to a school project, so two of the kids are pushed to be creative on a deadline; this is something I'm not fond of. Though, counter to that, the end result of their invention (whether its useful or not) is discovered by accident; I think that underscoring that would make things more interesting because, while a lot of things were figured out through intentional design, I like recognising that accidents can also help us to figure out new information and is a place for learning.
It's trite, though, in that it rehashes a lot of the common understandings of inventing rather than considering that maybe we could invent something that isn't inherently useful and is made for the sake of amusement or entertainment.