SERIES MADE SIMPLE

Inventing the Video Game

by Christine ZUCHORA-WALSKE
9781634074629. ea vol: 24p. (The Spark of Invention). further reading. glossary. index. The Child's World. 2016. lib. ed. $28.50. ebk. $28.50.
COPY ISBN
Gr 2–4—These highlights in the history of modern technology offer light doses of names and dates, along with nontechnical descriptions of significant early tweaks or innovations. The volumes take snowboarding from the time it was called "snurfing" through Shaun White's legendary run in the 2010 Olympics, computers from UNIVAC to the Apple II, and mobile phones from Marty Cooper's first taunting call to a competitor in 1973 to the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. Despite occasional gaps—Laine skips any mention of how color TV came to be—these titles will help young readers pair a range of common tools and toys with the often obscure men (all men, here) who made them possible.
VERDICT Good choices for casual browsers and budding inventors.
These books examine the history and technological underpinnings of these modern machines. Each volume hits on a few key people and events critical to the creation of the technology as well as to the products' broad popularity. The books are quite short, though, and don't provide much more than basic information about these technologies. There are four other spring 2016 books in this series. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Spark of Invention titles: Inventing the Internet, Inventing the Television, Inventing the Cell Phone, and Inventing the Hybrid Car.
Reviewed by Staff , Apr 01, 2016

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