"Wow! I never knew that!" exclaimed the wide-eyed tester who had just finished reading about the evolution of toilets, from the public open-air ones in ancient Rome to modern toilets that flush automatically. Each successive development (chamber pot, outhouse) was the result of an invention that added a new feature. The entire 89-page book is filled with clear, easy to-read, amusingly-illustrated nuggets of history about how products that today's youngsters take for granted came to be: toasters, jeans, chocolate bars, bicycles, Velcro, paper clips, computer mouse, microwave ovens, skateboards and many, many more.

Having read the book, the child who is eager to invent something of her own can turn to the accompanying Inventor's Portfolio Kit, which includes a 3-ring binder with pages on which to keep records, plus step-by-step instructions on everything from how to find something to invent, protecting the invention, making a prototype, test-marketing it, and links to downloading forms from the US Patent & Trademark Office.

The book is enhanced by an Inventions Timeline dating back to 50,000 BC (oil lamps) to 1992 (Text message), glossary, and index.