You know the Super Soaker. It's one of top twenty toys of all time. And it was invented entirely by accident. Trying to create a new cooling system for refrigerators and air conditioners, inventor Lonnie Johnson instead created the mechanics for the iconic toy. A love for rockets, robots, inventions, and a mind for creativity began early in Lonnie Johnson's life. Growing up in a house full of brothers and sisters, persistence and a passion for problem...

Examines the life and accomplishments of computer industry pioneer Steve Jobs, a founder of Apple Computer, Inc.

Presents the lives and accomplishments of the Wright brothers, high school dropouts from Dayton, Ohio, who started out repairing bicycles and went on to build and fly the first successful airplane.

"Celebrating the inventor of the Crayola crayon! This gloriously illustrated picture book biography tells the inspiring story of Edwin Binney, the inventor of one of the world's most beloved toys. A perfect fit among favorites like The Day the Crayons Quit and Balloons Over Broadway"--

"Young Benjamin Franklin wants to be a sailor, but his father won't hear of it. The other trades he tried bored him through and through. But each time he fails to find a career, he took some important bit of knowledge with him, and that tendency is exactly what made him the versatile genius we remember today." -- inside front jacket flap.

An introduction to the life and accomplishments of Thomas Edison, America's most famous inventor.

"This biography--perfect for middle-grade readers--tells the life story of Clarence Birdseye, the man who revolutionized the frozen food industry, and is adapted from Mark Kurlansky's adult work Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man. Adventurer and inventor Clarence Birdseye had a fascination with food preservation that led him to develop and patent the Birdseye freezing process and start the company that still bears his name today. His limitless...

Describes the friendship between the two inventors and how Thomas Edison's advice to the young Henry Ford inspired Ford to work on his automobiles until he came up with an inexpensive, reliable version which became the Model T.

Presents the story of Philo Farnsworth who invented the television. Describes how he got the idea at age fourteen and kept working until he created a working television when he was twenty-one.

"Emma Lilian Todd's mind was always soaring--she loved to solve problems. Lilian tinkered and fiddled with all sorts of objects, turning dreams into useful inventions. As a child, she took apart and reassembled clocks to figure out how they worked. As an adult, typing up patents at the U.S. Patent Office, Lilian built the inventions in her mind, including many designs for flying machines. However, they all seemed too impractical. Lilian knew she could...