Book Activities – Rosie Revere, Engineer

Activities inspired by books are a brilliant way to make the reading experience interactive, creative and playful. Children also develop a range of skills when they make things but that’s for the adults to think about – young people can focus on the fun bits. 

This year’s Summer Reading Challenge celebrates Marvellous Makers. One of my favourite fictional makers is Rosie Revere, Engineer. I’m a huge fan of the book and I also love that it’s full of so many creative possibilities! Here are some Rosie-shaped ideas for things you can do at home and books you can borrow from your local library.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Where some people see rubbish, Rosie Revere sees inspiration. Alone in her room at night, shy Rosie constructs great inventions from odds and ends. Hot dog dispensers, helium pants, python-repelling cheese hats. Rosie’s gizmos would astound—if she ever let anyone see them.

Afraid of failure, she hides them away under her bed. Until a fateful visit from her great-great-aunt Rose, who shows her that a first flop isn’t something to fear—it’s something to celebrate.

READ

In the book, Rosie’s great-great-great aunt Rose dreams of flying. So Rosie being Rosie, she thinks and works very hard to invent a machine that can fly. Check out these books to learn about some other kinds of vehicles:

Around the World in 80 Ways: The Fabulous Ways to Get from Here to There by Katy Halford

A fascinating and engaging picture book exploring 80 exciting ways to travel, both past and present – from the obvious, to the crazy! Travel around the world by yacht, tram, train, unicycle, jetpack, camel … any way you can imagine, in this non-fiction children’s book.

Marvellous Vehicles by James May

Hit the road with writer and broadcaster JAMES MAY to discover incredible human-powered vehicles – from bicycles and submarines to amphibious vehicles and even a helicopter. Yes, really!

See Inside Inventions by Alex Frith and Colin King

Over 60 flaps to lift to discover the wonderful, mysterious and often funny stories behind some of the world’s most ground-breaking inventions. Featuring eye-catching illustrations, quirky facts, and surprises such as flaps within flaps. With internet links to websites to find out more and design your own inventions.

DRAW

Rosie comes up with all sorts of inventions, some of which try to fix a problem – like the hat which keeps snakes away for her zookeeper Uncle Fred and the heli-o-cheese-copter to help her great-great-aunt Rose fly.

Ask your child to think of

(i) something they really want to do and/or

(ii) a problem they’d really like to fix.

Next, hand them a sheet of paper and plenty of art and craft material and ask them to illustrate ideas for imaginative inventions which would help make it happen.

Summer Things to Make and Do

From craft activities to colouring pages and step-by-step drawing, this delightful book is packed full of fun activities to keep little children busy all summer long. Each craft activity uses everyday and recycled materials from around the house, and has clear, illustrated step-by-step instructions, with helpful tips and photos of the finished crafts.

MAKE

Rosie uses everyday materials she finds around her to create all her fantastic inventions.

Ask your child to wander around the house on a quest to collect objects which are going to be thrown away or things which are broken and no longer useful or any other things which can be recycled.

Now ask them to experiment and create something using the gathered materials. You can combine this with the previous activity where these recycled inventions can be ideas for fixing problems. Alternatively, you can ask them to come up with uses for the invention once it is actually ready.

Making Machines with Wheels and Axles: Simple Machine Projects

A hands-on approach introduces young scientists to wheels and axles. Science theory and practical, fun projects teach the physics and the technology behind this simple machine. Important science curriculum is explained through historical and contemporary examples of wheels and axles. Step-by-step projects range from the simple to the more challenging.

Outdoor Maker Lab: Exciting Experiments for Budding Scientists by Robert Winston

Play pretend your favourite scientist or become one at home. Outdoor Maker Lab takes you on a step-by-step guide on how to do sensational science experiments like creating enormous bubbles, explore freeze-thaw action and constructing a compass using everyday materials in the great outdoors. This book will inspire you to start conducting your own experiments and exploring the principles of science.

The Gadget Inventor Handbook by Mike Warren

Opening with an introduction that explains core electronics skills such as stripping wires, soldering and building a simple circuit board, plus a list of essential components, Mike Warren goes on to present fourteen step-by-step projects for aspiring inventors. Graded easy, intermediate or advanced, the designs include a mini vibrating robot, potato clock, LED bookmark and pocket torch.

WATCH

Sometimes Rosie’s inventions work, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes you’re not quite sure. But she’s always curious and creative and ready to look at the world with a fresh perspective.

In this joyful talk featuring demos of her wonderfully wacky creations, Simone Giertz shares her craft: making useless robots. Her inventions — designed to chop vegetables, cut hair, apply lipstick and more — rarely (if ever) succeed, and that’s the point. “The true beauty of making useless things [is] this acknowledgment that you don’t always know what the best answer is,” Giertz says. “It turns off that voice in your head that tells you that you know exactly how the world works. Maybe a toothbrush helmet isn’t the answer, but at least you’re asking the question.”

EAT

Cheese plays a significant role in some of Rosie’s inventions – both the python-repelling hat and the heli-o-cheese copter involve cans of cheese spray.

Help the child you’re working with to make an easy cheese-based snack to pair with the book. Even if they’re not into cheese, this book has plenty of other recipe ideas:

Learn to Cook: 35 Fun and Easy Recipes for Children

With 35 comprehensive recipes and a helpful techniques section, Learn to Cook will teach kids how to prepare a variety of foods, from sandwiches and party snacks to simple dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – there’s even a range of lip-smacking desserts! Every dish has step-by-step artworks to guide you and your child, plus a skill level so you can start with quick and easy dishes and move on to more challenging recipes as you become more confident.

Visit your local library to check out or request the books featured here.