The Big Book of Invisible Technology by Chloe Taylor

The Big Book of Invisible Technology
by Chloe Taylor

ISBN-13: 9781646112517
Paperback: 152 pages
Publisher: Rockridge Press
Released: July 21st 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Learn to see how modern technology is all around us―a hands-on approach for kids 8 to 12. Bluetooth brings beautiful music to your ears―but how, exactly? Using technology and building with technology are two different skill sets―and a twenty-first-century kid will need to understand both. The Big Book of Invisible Technology offers ways to explore how things work for kids in fun, hands-on ways.

From the invisible Internet to driverless cars and drones, this book shows you how things work for kids, using step-by-step experiments. Then apply your knowledge and learn how you may, one day, bring real and important change to our lives. Are you ready to solve some of Earth’s biggest challenges with technology? The future needs you.

In this book on how things work for kids you’ll discover: Important tech-related words are highlighted in bold along with their definitions, in a virtual dictionary of how things work for kids. Nine applied experiments will inspire you to learn while doing―like taking apart and safely rebuilding an old keyboard or remote control. Discover how to brainstorm as you plan ways to positively influence our planet.


My Review:
The Big Book of Invisible Technology provides a simple overview of how modern technology works. It's targeted at ages 8 to 12, and the word variety used is appropriate for that age range. However, the concepts were discussed at a level that younger kids could follow. The author provided some history about the technology and gave a simple explanation of how it worked. There were also a number of activities like pretending to code by telling someone what to do to complete a task. Since there are whole books out there that teach kids in this age range to actually code, I felt like these were very simple activities and not very challenging for this age range. The author covered coding, the Internet, Bluetooth and cellular technology, robots, smart devices, 3D printing, drones, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality. There was also a section about what might be possible in the future, but it was mostly prompting the reader to dream about what they might like to see.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.