1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of detail, but all computer graphics, April 2, 2009
This review is from: Inventions (Insiders (Simon and Schuster)) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I can't make up my mind about this title. My 10-year-old son has looked at it more than once, and for more than five minutes, so that is a big plus. He seems to like it somewhat. The shiny, sort of complex cover design is also probably appealing to the elementary school-early middle school set.
Here are the chapter divisions:
INtroducing: A World of Invention
What Is an Invention?
Timeline of Invention
The First Inventors
IN focus: Great Inventions
It's Revolutionary: Wheel
With the Wind: Sail
Keeping Time: Clock
Putting Wind to Work: Windmill
Spreading the Word: Printing Press
The Universe Revealed: Telescope
Powering the Modern Age: Engine
Capturing the Moment: Camera
Transport on Track: Train
Sound Ideas: Music Player
Making Electricity: Power Station
Keeping Connected: Telephone
Deep Diver: Submarine
Freedom Machine: Automobile
Lighter Than Air: Airship
Taking to the Skies: Airplane
Across the Airwaves: Radio and TV
Quick Thinking: Computer
Out of This World: Rocket
Kindest Cuts: Sgery
Access Control: Lock and Key
Better Bodies: Bionics
Wired World: Internet
Glossary
Index
I don't really like it though, personally. I think mostly it is because of the computer graphics. The images are very detailed and mostly realistic, but they look too much like computer game graphics, or some other kind of animation. I don't like that kind of art although I realize it is very popular and probably makes for a simple way to have one style for the entire book. Getting one artist that could do all the different types of views might have been hard, or at the least more expensive.
I liked the timelines across the bottoms of the sections, and the big stacked one at the front. I liked the way the information was broken up into little pieces. That made it easier to read, like a lot of magazine photo captions.
Each regular section is a two-page spread. (It looks nice but doesn't fit well on my scanner unfortunately.)
I'm not so sure about some of the details though, like the "jewelry" on the prehistoric person in "The First Inventors." I agree that they had adornment, but the bracelet looks too much like fancy metal links. I'm also not sure about the introduction of woven materials, in other words, how anachronistic that image is. But that is less of a concern to me than the high-tech bracelet. I can't judge most of the other pages so I don't know about errors or anachronisms in the imagery there -- and perhaps the goal here is more the forest than the trees.
I loved the page on Wheels. So simple that they are often overlooked, they get a nice little spread (remember, this is not an in-depth study here, but something we want the kids actually to read) and I was so happy to see the caption about the Americas (not so much with the wheels in the ancient Americas).
Engine is another fun spread in my opinion. Everyone will have their personal favorites. Camera is nice too, especially because so many kids will not be familiar with anything but digital. Likewise for the Telephone pages.
Train of course is good to see. Who doesn't love trains? And it stars the Maglev.
I was interested to see the Computer page, and only wish that there was more about the "difference engine" of 1849. I have heard of Difference Engines but still don't know what they are. Again, this is a child's book and it would be out of place to have a whole history of the difference engine. Given the info in the blurb, anyone can go look up as much as they want.
Surgery is cool, and Lock and Key, and of course Bionics.
The Glossary and Index are appropriate for the level of sophistication of this book. The lack of a bibliography or "Further Reading" section is a serious flaw though!
Taken as a light piece for the casual young reader, it's fine -- colorful and exciting. I would not necessarily recommend it for the more precocious child (they might find it fun -- or frustrating). It may also be suitable for the older child who is a slower reader but very tech-oriented.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay, but not better than others, March 26, 2009
This review is from: Inventions (Insiders (Simon and Schuster)) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This book could be described as a "coffee table" book for kids that deals with inventions. As with most coffee table books, this one is heavy on illustrations, but light on words. The illustrations are good, but not exactly the "state of the art 3-D illustrations that practically leap off every page" that the back cover of the book describes them as.
While the illustrations are very appealing, there isn't enough text to make this book a necessity, or even very useful, for a child. For each subject, the main article averages only about 150 words to describe the invention and its history. Added to that are a couple of sidebars concerning matters related to the invention which consist of about 50-75 words each. And along the bottom of the pages are several examples (usually about 5) of the progression of the invention with about two sentences each describing them. These are all interesting to read, but a child wouldn't even be able to fabricate a decent report from the supplied information. And if a person was interested in any of the subjects, say the automobile for instance, one would be done reading in only a couple of minutes--if that.
To sum up, this is a nice book to look at. It is interesting to read. There just isn't enough information in it on any one of the subjects covered to make to make it extremely useful. This is not a bad book; I just think there are better ones available dealing with the same subject. As I mentioned before, this is a coffee table book for kids. The illustrations are enjoyable to look at. What is lacks is text. There just isn't enough of it. This is a picture book, not a reference book. I give the book a rating of 3 stars because it is just an average book, and 3 is about average.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A vibrantly illustrated book but somewhat limited for this genre--more of a take-out-of-the-library kind of book, March 26, 2009
This review is from: Inventions (Insiders (Simon and Schuster)) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This book introduces children to a variety of different inventions that are relevant to the present time. The best feature of the book are its illustrations. These highlight an invention (such as the automobile or the telephone)and show the development of the invention over time. The relatively terse descriptions highlight the history, important features, and interesting facts about the invention.
The pictures are the best feature of this series. They are dramatic, highly detailed, and quite engaging for the book's core audience, children between the ages of 9 and 12.
Unfortunately, the writing and length of the book seem to fall a little short. There are other series such as the Reader's Digest series (for example,
Reader's Digest ~ How Science Works) or the DK Eyewitness series (for example,
Invention (DK Eyewitness Books)) that cover more ground and have more detailed descriptions of the topics covered.
If this were a contest for the best pictures, Inventions might eke out a win with its incredible illustrations. However, Reader's Digest(RD) and DK cover more topics, have more in depth writing, still have great illustrations, and have more potential educational value.
Inventions is more the kind of book that you might take out of the library. These kinds of books help children understand their surroundings, but they seem to be more of a passing fancy than something they absolutely need on their book shelf.
If you want to own these kinds of books there are other series such as David MacCauley's books (for example,
The New Way Things Work) that contain even more incredible illustrations and a lot more prose. MacCauley's books work equally well on a child's bookshelf or your living room coffee table. Even though these are slated for 'young adults,' MacCauley can keep kids from ages 5 to adult engaged and always coming back for more.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
