Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Melanie Kroupa Books
Release Date: August 2004
ISBN: 0374329532
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Hardcover Full-Color Picture Book
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Genre: Children’s fiction [Age Level: 4 – 8]
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Jan Fields
Reviewer Notes:  
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Henry’s Amazing Machine  
By Dayle Ann Dodds

Kyrsten Brooker

     Henry is a boy who loves putting things together. He never knows quite what his contraption is for – but he loves it just the same, and so does his community. But his parents have a bit of a problem as Henry’s machine gets bigger and bigger. My four year old loved this book. As soon as we finished reading it, she had to build a contraption using pipe cleaners, stuffed toys, and plastic cars. This is the kind of book that inspires a child to build without worrying about purpose – sometimes simply creating is enough. I liked seeing inventing portrayed as a creative and artistic act. So often children with an engineering bent are left out of the artistic loop. The text flows wonderfully as a read-aloud, smooth and engaging – it’s the sort of book that will hold up well to multiple readings. And the illustrations are so full of bits and gadget parts that a young inventor will spend hours looking at them.