Oh, the Things They Invented!: All About Great Inventors

The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library

by Bonnie Worth

From the first printing press to the World Wide Web—the Cat looks at inventors and inventions that have changed our lives!
 
The Cat in the Hat goes back in time to meet with the masterminds of more than a dozen inventions that made a major impact on our lives today — from famous figures like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright brothers to lesser-known ones like Garrett Morgan, Mary Anderson, and Tim Berners-Lee. Children will learn basic information about each invention, as well as fascinating facts like how Guttenberg’s famous printing machine was made from an old wine press, how a steaming teakettle may have inspired the creation of the steam engine, and how table salt changed the history of photography. Ideal for supporting the Common Core State Standards, and a natural for fans of the hit PBS Kids show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, this is a great way to introduce beginning readers to science!

Genres: Science, Childrens, History, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Biography, Historical

48 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2015

About the author

BONNIE WORTH is the author of countless books for young readers, among them the Cat in the Hat Learning Library books If I Ran the Rain Forest, HarK! A Shark!, Oh Say Can You Seed? (winner of the 2003 Ohio Farm Bureau Award), Wish for a Fish, Oh Say Can You Say Di-No-Saur?, Would You Rather Be a Pollywog?, Ice Is Nice!, and Safari, So Good!

Reviews

[Erin Penn]

Very traditional take on inventors and inventing. In other words, white men from the Western World only. Two exceptions, but they are so weak and incidental it actually is more of an insult to add them.

The normal amazing illustrations are great and the rhymes work most of the time. Aside from white-washing history, this isn't bad. But it is time to diversify.

I did the full breakdown below. Really, only one woman and giving her less text than anyone else and it is the Windshield Wiper? And both Ms. Anderson and Mr. Morgan are NOT SHOWN USING THEIR INVENTIONS - all the white dudes are seen working their new toy or shaking hand or getting the full-body treatment, but the two diverse characters are only shown face-on once in the title.

Actual breakdown - both on amount of text and how many pages
Johannes Gutenberg - The printing press (4 pages & 8 lines of 4)
James Watt - Steam Engine (4 pages ... with some very good diagrams! & 8 lines of 4)
Eli Whitney - Cotton Gin (2 pages & 4 lines of 4)
Louis Daguerre - Early Photography (4 pages & 7 lines of 4)
Samuel Morse - Morse Code and the Telegraph (2 pages & 5 lines of 4)
Alexander Graham Bell - Telephone (2 pages & 4 lines of 4)
Thomas Edison - Phonograph (2 pages & 5 lines of 4)
Gottlieb Daimler - Four-wheeled automobile (2 pages ... with the internal combustion engine illustrated! & 4 lines of 4)
Wilbur and Orville Wright - Fixed Wing Motorized Aircraft (2 pages & 5 lines of 4)
Mary Anderson - Manually operated windshield wipers (not even a motor! - 2 pages & 3 lines of 4
Garrett Morgan - 3 position traffic signal (2 pages & 5 lines of 4)
Conrad Zuse & Steve Job - Computer Inventors (2 pages & 4 lines of 4)
Tim Bernes-Lee - World Wide Web (2 pages & 6.5 lines of 4)

[JayD]

This Cat in the Hat book is advertised for 5-8-year-olds, but I can see even most 8-year-olds struggling with some of the vocabulary, at least on first reading. I'm also pretty certain that every young child would need help from an adult to understand many of the concepts, so be prepared to help out. (I seriously doubt that many adults could explain how photographic plates or cotton gins work without a chance to bone up ahead of time.) Here is one of the more demanding pages:

Slipped into the camera
was a copper plate
bathed in iodine crystals.
(It's power was great!)

The plate copied an image
that no-one could see
until mercury fumes
made it clear as could be.

Given all that, it's a wonderful book for those children who are fascinated by gizmos and gadgets. It does also perform that necessary task of exposing children to some important names and inventions. The two weak inventions, windshield wipers and three-way traffic signals, are presumably there only to satisfy the diversity demand.

The inventions are: Johannes Gutenberg printing press; James Watt steam engine; Eli Whitney cotton gin; Louis Daguerre photography; Samuel Morse code; Alexander Bell telephone; Thomas Edison phonograph; Gottlieb Daimler automobile; Wilbur & Orville Wright airplane; Mary Anderson windshield wipers; Garrett Morgan 3-way traffic signals; Conrad Zuse computer; Steve Jobs computer; Tim Berners-Lee World Wide Web.

The author isn't Theodor Seuss Geisel, and the poetry doesn't have quite have his flair: it's a bit clunky at times, but still not bad.

[Lacy | literary_lacy]

This book isn’t bad, but it’s much too long for my kids. It was informational, and would be great for teacher the basics about some famous inventors. My kids didn’t care anything about my this book. They’re still too young for it!

[Anthony S]

Racist in its neutral/positive portrayal of slaves using a cotton gin. Horrifically neutral on technology which has propagated climate change. Outdated and best replaced with more critical and modern interpretations.

[Alisha Copas]

I was curious about this book and what exactly Dr. Seuss was teaching kids about things that they invented. It is a very informative book that goes over lots of great inventions from the past that are still relevant today. Makes learning about history fun for kids and entertaining in my opinion.

[Phyll]

out of 13 inventors in this book, only two are not white men? lol ok. there are more black people on the page about the cotton gin than anywhere else. pass.

[Villain E]

The Cat in the Hat takes the kids on a tour of inventions, from the steam engine to the internet.

[K Morlando]

An excellent resource used for our class unit.

[Abraham Ray]

Great children’s read about inventions!

[Lorie]

Thirteen great inventors from history are profiled in an easy reader format that allows new readers to read for information and for fun as well. After a short introduction, the reader is off on a rhyming adventure that begins in 1439 with Johannes Gutenberg and his moveable type printing press and ends with Tim Berners-Lee in 1989-1990 with the invention of the World Wide Web. It concludes with an invitation for kids to get involved in inventing. The illustrations, like the text, are also done in homage to Dr. Seuss’s signature style and color palate which makes them appealing to child selectors as they may be familiar with his works. The book contains a glossary, index and suggestion of books for further reading. I would recommend this book for any school or public library looking for non-fiction books for new or emerging readers ages 6-9. This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Wendy Kuzma]

The rhyming language in this book about inventors makes for fun reading while learning factual information.

[Brownd2]

cute & clever for any age...

[Abraham Ray]

Great children's book about inventions ! Be sure to check out the section on the internet!