Henry Ford for Kids ─ His Life and Ideas, With 21 Activities

Henry Ford for Kids provides an in-depth and refreshingly realistic portrait of the man who “put America on wheels” and, in so doing, helped create a modern America. Detailing Ford’s childhood as a precocious farm-boy mechanic, his revolutionary labor and production ideas, and the lasting legacy of his widespread philanthropy, author Ronald Reis also does not shy away from his eccentricities and the issues that stirred controversy, such as the industrialist’s anti-Semitism and his pacifist views. Packed with historic photos and illuminating sidebars, the book brings the turn of the 20th century to life, touching on related topics such as the popularity of “auto polo,” the Great War, the life of industrial architect Albert Kahn (“the man who built Detroit”), and more. Twenty-one hands-on activities encourage budding innovators to apply engineering and production ideas and learn more about the era. Kids will build a lemon-powered battery, make a moving assembly line, learn to dance the waltz, design an automobile dashboard, and much more.

Ronald A. Reis is the author of Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration for Kids, The US Congress for Kids, and more than a dozen other nonfiction books for young adults. His biography of Buffalo Bill Cody won the 2011 Spur Award for the best juvenile nonfiction biography about the west. He has taught at the middle school, high school, and community college level and is former technology department chair at Los Angeles Valley College, where he now teaches electronics part-time.