"This set is a browsers' delight as well as a rich resource for science or pop-history report writers. The volumes each pair breezy but factual accounts of the development of 10 to 12 common items with a mix of modern and period images or photos. Familiar as the inventions are (e.g., blue jeans, Band-Aids, Botox, toilet paper, and instant replay), the stories of their creations are often not so easy to discover. The generous annotated resource lists at the end of each volume add further value." —School Library Journal, Series Made Simple

11/01/2013
Gr 2–4—This set is a browsers' delight as well as a rich resource for science or pop-history report writers. The volumes each pair breezy but factual accounts of the development of 10 to 12 common items with a mix of modern and period images or photos. Familiar as the inventions are (e.g., blue jeans, Band-Aids, Botox, toilet paper, and instant replay), the stories of their creations are often not so easy to discover. The generous annotated resource lists at the end of each volume add further value.