50 Wacky Inventions Throughout History

50 Wacky Inventions by Joe Rhatigan was a spectacularly fun book introducing children to some of the crazier inventions dreamed up over time. I found the book to be not only informative, but also inspiring. It encourages children to try something new and create even if they think it's wild. It showcased inventors that believed in their ideas and didn't give up on them. This is an ideal book to share with students in a classroom or makerspace.

When my daughter was in elementary school, they had something called an "Invention Convention" where the kids had to invent something that hadn't been invented before, and which would solve a problem. The little kids came up with toy picker uppers, and stuff like that. I think my daughter tried to come up with a way to keep dry while closing your umbrella. It was quite a few years ago, but I was always impressed at what these kids came up with.

This book is a lot like this. Some of the inventions are a little wacky, such as sthe human bird feeder, or the hat with a vacuume tube radio in it, that didn't do too well. Others like the car that could be a boat actually sold to people like LBJ. And bird diapers are still being sold, especially for urban chickens. So while we may laugh at some of these inventions, some have a practice use, and are still be purchased to this day.

I think kids will have fun with this book, and perhaps it will inspire them to come up with an invention that needs creating.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book, the illustrations are really bright and colourful and all go alongside an invention from history. I like that there's not too much information on each page, and it's just a short paragraph about the invention and some history about it.

It was so interesting to read about these 50 inventions..........

The inventions featured here are hilarious and the illustrations that accompany them are super cute!

It's just as the title says....a little weird and a whole lot wacky. Who knew that people would invent such crazy things like a cat licker (yes really), the sibling separator (perhaps not such a bad thing really some might say), and watch and ride.

Each invention has an explanation of what it did, and why it didn't take off or what other inventions have stemmed from it. The pictures are also a little wacky and the colours are bright throughout. This book is great for your child who likes something a little different that will make them laugh a little but also give them some interesting and wacky facts about inventions that their friends might not know about.

50 Wacky Inventions Throughout History: Weird Inventions that Seem Too Crazy to be Real by the Walter Foster Jr. Creative Team is a nonfiction book for children that illustrates how wonderful and wacky the creative mind can be. Have you ever heard of a bike TV? Or a bird diaper? The 50 inventions highlighted in this book range from useful, to entertaining, to downright silly. These mind-boggling inventions and gadgets from yesterday, today, and tomorrow will surprise and delight fun-fact lovers of all ages.

50 Wacky Inventions Throughout History: Weird Inventions that Seem Too Crazy to be Real offers information and images that capture the imagination and interest of readers. I liked that while some of the inventions might seem ridiculous, the inventors and the reasoning behind each invention is offered, but not mocked. The silliness of the inventions is not left out, but at no point are the idea or people involved made fun of. This is important in my eyes, because making light of inventors might discourage readers that might have some wonderful ideas. The illustrations in the book are fun and cartoony, breaking up the text a little so that more reluctant readers will feel less overwhelmed by the amount of text and information. This was a fun and informative read, and one that I can see many taking the time to re read.

This is a fantastic book!! Full of facts, quirky as well as wacky inventions and I loved it - 5 stars from me!!

This would be a great book to have in the classroom! It is colourful and easy to read. A great one for silent reading when the children can dip in and out of it. Some humorous inventions! Could be fun to encourage children to come up with their own wacky inventions. Definitely will be purchasing a copy for my classroom.

I highly recommend this book -- it will help encourage young inventors to experiment and brainstorm. Even if an invention doesn't turn out perfectly, the experience of inventing is worth the time and effort. Perfect for inspiration for things like Tinkerspace, Maker Labs, and Invention Conventions!