Eureka!

Eureka!: Poems About Inventors
by Joyce Sidman; illustrated by K. Bennett Chavez
Millbrook Press, 2002

Genre: Poetry, Technology Non-fiction

Honors:

• Book Links 11/01/03
• Booklist 10/15/02
• Horn Book 04/01/03
• Riverbank Review 01/01/03
• School Library Journal 01/01/03
• Wilson's Children 10/01/10

Review: Ever wonder what Leonardo da Vinci was thinking? Who was the "Real McCoy"? Want to know what "graham" is? The answers to these questions and more are the makeup of sixteen poems written about famous inventors and inventions of the pre-past, the age of invention, and the present age of the Internet. Some of the poems take on a life of their own as Sidman brings the voices of some past inventors to life to speak their own account of what they've accomplished. Her rhymes are often silly and nonsensical, and sometimes, as in the case of Marie Curie, they are very serious.

Opinion: A sixth-through-eighth-grade teacher I used to work with would have appreciated this book immensely. She was always looking for unique poetry books to share with her students.

Ideas: A good example of how poetry can be used for more than conveying emotions. I would base a fun poetry workshop on books like Sidman's, putting it on display for a reference for young poets who attend.