Written By: Kobi Yamada
Illustrated By: Mae Besom
What do you do with an idea? Especially an idea that’s different, or daring, or just a little wild? Do you hide it? Walk away from it? Do you pretend it isn’t yours? This is the story of one brilliant idea and the child who helps to bring it into the world. As the child’s confidence grows, so does the idea itself. And then, one day, something amazing happens.
Summary from jacket flap provided by Compendium.
This is one of those books that hits home the minute you start reading it. I think the answer is something everyone knows, but never really puts into words. Kobe Yamada does a beautiful job of creating a story that is inspiring to anyone who has ever had an idea…
Discussion/Project Ideas:
This is a tricky one – Brainstorm “ideas”. This may take a while because it is hard to force something so wonderful. Take a week if you need to and jot down notes and ideas as they come to you. You can also do this as a class. When you have at least ten ideas (but, the more the merrier) pick one of the following activities.
1. Sort the ideas. I love sorting because it can be so open ended. For this activity, you may sort them however you wish – that is the point. You could sort them into categories such as science, business, recreational, etc. The main goal is to get you thinking about the ideas in ways they can relate to the world around you. When you begin to see where ideas can go and who they can impact once they leave your mind, you can start to explore ways to make your idea a reality.
2. Pick an invention that is in your everyday life and find out where the idea began and how that invention came to be. If you wanted to get really creative, you could research to see if there were any other similar inventions that never came to be. An example is the telephone. See if you can find out what happened there!
3. Choose an invention that you think has made a great impact on human life. Now, pretend that the inventor decided that he would not pursue his idea. How do you think that decision would impact your life today? Would you miss it? Tell the story of how you think it would impact society if that invention didn’t exist or how it would impact your family.