Customer Reviews

Mistakes that Worked

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My mom always told me that you can't make anything if you can't make mistakes. This book proves the point aptly, highlighting several mistakes that turned into common and often-loved inventions (chocolate chip cookies, Coca-Cola, the Slinky). This is an enlightening book to share with kids, encouraging them to realize that taking risks, learning to improvise and experiment is often the best way to learn, even if you don't end up creating something new and wonderful.

This book is great! It deserves more than 5 stars. I have read this book more than once, and I plan to read it again. The stories behind the inventions are amazing! I learned so many new facts. Did you know that Levi's jeans were invented by accident? If you want to learn more, read this amazing book!

The stories in this book are amazing. Many everyday things were really discovered accidentally. Our family, from a 75 year old grandmother to an eight year old, learned many new things. Our favorite "mistakes" are tea, the Slinky and the ice cream cone. A great addition to your home library.

My teacher read from this book about how chocolate chip cookies were discovered in 1st grade. Ever since I have been looking for this book! I am so glad to have found it!

This was a really fun book to read. We couldn't believe that some of the greatest inventions were made by mistake. It is a really fun book to read. You can pick it up and put it down easily while you are doing your other summer activities. Our favorite mistakes that worked were the ice cream cone, the chocolate chip cookie, aspirin and silly putty. Don't be surprised if you find your mom can't put it down either! A must read for all ages.

If you have a 10-15 years old, this is a nice book for him/her. This is not a history of technology book, it's more of an easy reading.
Additionally, if you don't live in the US, the book makes little sense, since it is full of American references both historically and in terms of customs. On the other hand, if the lucky child who's going to receive it as a gift is American, this is yet another good reason to read this book.

Make no mistake; this is a well-made piece of work. The stories flow smoothly, and the illustrations are very nice. However, the facts just haven't been checked. It claims (incorrectly) that Coca-Cola was an accident, it states (falsely) that Cinderella originally wore fur slippers instead of glass, and it actually elaborates with no real evidence on the history of the brick. For these reasons, I don't recommend it; if you really enjoy it and want to, check everything at snopes.com, where facts are checked ruthlessly.

I have used this book with third graders as they learn to hypothesize. Not wanting to make mistakes, they will change their hypothesis or make it "fuzzy" enough that it is safely generalized. This book shows great examples of people who made mistakes in their "hypothesis" and profited (chocolate chip cookies!).

I purchased this for my elementary school aged children and they loved it. Fun stories about discovery and invention. I always pushed my kids to be 100% perfect all of the time, but now they come back and let me know that mistakes are important too (just not on tests!).

This book is witty and clever. A wonderful telling of inventions that we all know and love. Great book to have in the home!