Innovators ─ The Stories Behind the People Who Shaped the World; With 25 Projects

Most people have heard of Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg, but how about Daniel Hale Williams, Mae Jemison, and Mary Anderson? The world owes a lot to the unsung heroes of innovation, people who used their ideas to make the world a better place through advances in health, technology, food science, and discovery! In Innovators: The Stories Behind the People Who Shaped the World, readers ages 9 to 12 learn about many inventions, products, processes, and improvements people have made to create the reality in which we live.

For example, in 1938, Ruth Wakefield added bits of chocolate to her cookies and invented Toll House chocolate chip cookies. In 2012, at the age of just 15, Jack Andraka developed a speedy and cheap method to detect pancreatic cancer. Being innovative means thinking creatively and critically to solve problems and find improvements?all it takes is an open mind, curiosity, and a desire to come up with ideas! Hands-on activities use the engineering design process and include creating a homemade version of Silly Putty and figuring out how to make a solar-powered oven. Links to primary sources, videos, and relevant websites offer a digital experience for deeper, independent learning and inspiration.

Marcia Amidon Lusted has written more than 80 books for young readers, many on historical subjects. As an assistant editor for Cobblestone Publishing and its award-winning history magazines, she has written widely on many different historical eras. Her books for Nomad Press include The Roaring Twenties: Discover the Era of Prohibition, Flappers, and Jazz and Civic Unrest: Investigate the Struggle for Social Change. Marcia lives in Hancock, New Hampshire.

Tom Casteel is an illustrator and cartoonist with a master's degree from the Center for Cartoon Studies. Tom has illustrated several books for Nomad Press, including The Brain: Journey Through the Universe Inside Your Head; Cities: Discover How They Work; and Human Migration: Investigate the Global Journey of Humankind. Tom lives in South Bend, Indiana.