Kit Gets Inspired: Looking at One Thing and Thinking of Another (Book 15)

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Book 15 of 20 in Kit's Little Sparks, STEM picture books for toddlers and preschoolers.

The story. At Grandma's house everyone looks at the flowers, but Kit notices the stand under them: three shelves, like steps, big pot, middle pot, little pot. Kit has seen three steps like that before. The Steady Sippy, the cup holder he built, has the same three steps, and now his stomach goes funny. Is that copying? While the cookies bake he hides the Sippy behind his back, then under his beanie, until Sparks, the tiny fairy who naps in his beanie, tugs him out to the garden to ask Bloom, a very small garden fairy. Bloom points at a sunflower and asks what it makes Kit think of. A PINWHEEL. Does a pinwheel look like a sunflower? No. Not the same thing, a new thing. Same? NO! New? YES! A snail becomes a house on wheels, a dandelion a tiny umbrella, and Kit starts to get it. When the timer DINGS, Kit tells Grandma where his idea came from, and Grandma takes a picture down from the wall to show where the idea for her stand came from: a WEDDING CAKE, three layers, like steps.

How you read it. Your child counts the three flower pots with Kit. Three claps up high wake Sparks. Hands go behind the back when Kit hides the Sippy. Each time Bloom asks what a thing makes you think of, your child answers first, and every answer is right. Then the chant, louder each time: "Same? NO! New? YES!" (not the same thing, a new thing). And one big "DING!" when the cookies are done. The story runs about five minutes aloud. After it comes a short talk page for the two of you, with one question to ask and one line to say together.

Once a child can make a thing, where the idea came from is the next step. Most of us have seen a child hide what they made. This book gives your child a guessing game and a chant: same? No. New? Yes. It gives you a line: what did it make you think of?

What is inside:

• 28 pages of story and activities: the story, a talk page for parents, one activity page, and six play-together games, each with its own picture
• Full-color watercolor illustrations
• A note for parents and educators
• A QR code to free read-aloud audio and a printable family activity booklet

About the series: Kit's Little Sparks is a 20-book series of STEM picture books that builds the social-emotional foundations of the inventor's mindset: curiosity, resilience, and confidence. Written by Chris Kuczynski, an engineer turned patent attorney, preschool co-founder, and dad who has spent more than 20 years with inventors.

Read the complete guide to all 20 books in the series: STEM Books for Toddlers

Details:

Ages: Series One, Ages 2 to 4

Format:
Board book, 7 x 7 inches
Hardcover, 8 x 8 inches
Paperback, 8 x 8 inches

Pages: 28

ISBN 978-1-968470-29-6 (board book)
ISBN 978-1-968470-51-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-968470-94-4 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-968470-30-2 (EPUB)
ISBN 978-1-968470-72-2 (Kindle)