DIY is Elementary!

...the maker movement is inspiring educators to hark back to hands-on learning, tinkering, and puttering. It is recognizing the power of kids learning through their hands, naturally iterating and updating designs until they are just the way that the kids want them to be... In this feature, we suggest books that can help your elementary learners find role models and inspiration as they work toward their own maker mind-sets.
~Kristin Fontichiaro & Mollie Hall, "Maker Minds", BookLinks April 2015

Do you have a junior inventor on your hands?  Someone who likes to know how things tick, taking them apart and putting them back together? Do you know someone who likes to experiment? Is there someone whose creativity you'd like to encourage? Why not help your child or friend get inspired with some children's books that are all about people who got their hands dirty? From the true story a boy who grew up inventing pulleys to feed chickens in the coop and making marionettes to a story about a girl who loves to sew, from a girl who wants to create "the most magnificent thing" to a girl whose ingenuity turns a drab world into a magical kingdom of color, from the brothers who invented fluorescent paint to an unsung creator of hip-hop, we bet you can find something in the library catalog to spark a young mind!

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Crafty Chloe by Kelly DiPucchio

The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors by Chris Barton

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

Lunch Walks Among Us by Jim Benton

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Mouse and Mole, Fine Feathered Friends by Wong Herbert Yee

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

The Scraps Book: Notes From a Colorful Life by Lois Ehlert

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant

Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill