Most people have heard of Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg, but how about Daniel Hale Williams, Mae Jemison, and Mary Anderson? The world owes a lot to the unsung heroes of innovation, people who used their ideas to make the world a better place through advances in health, technology, food science, and discovery! In Innovators: The Stories Behind the People Who Shaped the World, readers ages 9 to 12 learn about many inventions, products, processes, and improvements people have made to create the reality in which we live.

For example, in 1938, Ruth Wakefield added bits of chocolate to her cookies and invented Toll House chocolate chip cookies. In 2012, at the age of just 15, Jack Andraka developed a speedy and cheap method to detect pancreatic cancer. Being innovative means thinking creatively and critically to solve problems and find improvements—all it takes is an open mind, curiosity, and a desire to come up with ideas! Hands-on activities use the engineering design process and include creating a homemade version of Silly Putty and figuring out how to make a solar-powered oven. Links to primary sources, videos, and relevant websites offer a digital experience for deeper, independent learning and inspiration.

Nomad Press books in the Build It Yourself series integrate content with participation. Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM Education all place project-based learning as key building blocks in education. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.