An instructional guide for creating versions of the inventions of Ben Franklin interspersed with historical and biographical tidbits about his life. Each invention section begins with a brief history of how Franklin was inspired to develop the particular innovation. In addition to the step by step instructions given, many of the chapters include a portion called “Fun Ideas to Try” which have various activities like writing letters to the editor or drawing political cartoons to extend the text. These activities are similar to what a teacher might assign if the material was being covered within a class.

The format makes the text feel disjointed at times with inset boxes popping up frequently with loosely related information using multiple fonts and sizes of text throughout the book. The complexity of the recreated inventions is uneven. The instructions for the various creations go from simple like creating a feather pen by taping a feather to a pen to quite complex where a glue gun and hand tools are required. The author is very enthusiastic about the topic, frequently peppering the narrative with exclamation points. Although the format is distracting, this book may find an audience with young teens interested in history and inventions of early America. ( )