For every child who longs to make the most amazing thing, here's a
delightful picture book biography of a determined self-taught inventor
who never stops following the call to imagine, discover, create.
From the time he is a small boy, Franz is curious about machines and how
they work. He wants to try to build his own. Even though he's needed to
work on the family farm, and later marries and has a family of his own,
Franz never gives up on his dream. He learns and tries and tests his
ideas all on his own. And though many people don't understand or
appreciate Franz's work, when his fantastic, complex creation is
completed at long last, he finally finds an audience that recognizes his
genius.
Beth Anderson's uplifting picture book biography offers an engaging look
at the inspiring life of Franz Gsellmann, an inventor from rural Austria
who, with no formal artistic or engineering training, built an
elaborate, intricate machine called the Weltmaschine (World Machine).
The well-told story extols the joy of curiosity and inventing for
inventing's sake, and explores the concept of mechanical-kinetic
sculptures, in which art and science intersect. Whimsical illustrations
by Caroline Hamel help bring the subject to life. Supporting backmatter
includes an author's note, resources, a biography of Franz, an
explanation of the machine, a search-and-find activity and questions to
get children thinking about their own ideas that could lead to fun
classroom activities. This book has strong STEAM curriculum links,
particularly in technology and structures, and valuable character
education lessons in courage, perseverance and resilience.
