What Work Is: Architect and Engineer

Environmental & Science Education
Edward Hessler

Image from Amazon.com

A sentence in a very short review of physicist Steven Weinberg's To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science in The New Yorker (March 23, 2015) caught my attention. "The book's defining preoccupation is with error: the story of science becomes the story of humans struggling to overcome their own ideas." I like this slant on the nature of science--another way to think about what science is.

Iggy the Architect & Rosie the Engineer
It reminded me of two treasures of children's literature by Andrea Beaty. Iggy Peck Architect (2007) and Rosie Revere Engineer (2013). The illustrations are by David Roberts whose work pops from the pages, animates the text and delights the eye. There is much to be seen in them. And the book titles just roll from the tongue!

Image from Amazon.com

Iggy's view of the world is "There are worse things to do when you're in grade two than to spend your time developing a dream," a view that runs head-on to a teacher with a different expectation.

Rosie's view had some similarities for me to the sentence from the review of Weinberg's new book.  She says "The only true failure can come if you quit," a point-of-view she owes a grandmother.

In the links to the books above you can peek inside, find reviews, and activities for families and parties. The link to Rosie Revere Engineer includes an extended lesson that is based on current national standards, an tinkering station, and a video on when an Iggy Peck Fan Meets Rosie Revere.

Looking for ideas to help a learner engage with her/his world?  These two books do this and provide a lot of fun along the way.