Steven Caney's Invention Book

Kids are natural inventors, bursting with notions so crazy they just might work. Chester Greenwood was just a boy when his big cold ears prompted him to fashion wire and fur into the world's first earmuffs. Caney shows how to get into "an inventing frame of mind" and how to look at everyday objects in new ways, as clues to fresh ideas.

From keeping a good notebook to setting up a workshop, from building the prototype to applying for a patent, Steven Caney covers it all, even showing the young entrepreneur how to market an invention successfully.

To get the creativity flowing, here are also hundreds of fantasy ideas that still need to be invented: everything from a temperature-regulating straw to sunburn alarm tabs. There are also extensive plans for twenty projects kids can build from ordinary household items. And to demonstrate the many sources of creative thinking, Caney tells the stories behind 25 landmark American inventions. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Suitable for ages 8-13. 215,000 copies in print.

Steven Caney is the author of Toybook, Playbook, and Kids' America. He is on the faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design and maintains his own design business outside of Boston.