Hello everyone,
I thought I'd start a new blog series called Librarian's Corner Review featuring books that I will be reviewing purely as a librarian. These are books I may not necessarily add to my personal library but may be worth adding to my purchase list and adding it to my school library. (In case you didn't know, I'm an elementary school librarian.)
So, for these reviews I'll be putting my librarian cap on and sharing my thoughts about these books as a librarian.
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Release Date: September 12, 2017
Source of my copy: publisher
Series: n/a
Synopsis
Colin Furze, five-time Guinness World Record Holder and YouTube's undisputed king of crazy inventions, instructs fans and curious young inventors on how to build ten brand new wacky inventions at home with an affordable tool kit.
Colin Furze's bonkers and brilliant inventions such as a homemade hoverbike, DIY Wolverine Claws, an alarm clock ejector bed, and Hoover shoes have earned him 4.5 million YouTube subscribers and more than 450 million video views. Now Colin is on a mission to inspire a new generation of budding inventors with This Book Isn't Safe!
This Book Isn't Safe contains instructions on how to make ten brand new inventions with a basic at-home toolkit, alongside behind-the-scenes stories about some of Colin's greatest inventions and top secret tips and tricks straight from his invention bunker (aka a shed in his backyard in Stamford Lincolnshire).
I've actually never heard of Colin Furze before I was contacted about This Book Isn't Safe. My YouTube watching is somewhat limited to booktube, makeup videos, music videos, and the occasional celebrity gossip videos. I have since watched a few of Colin Furze's videos and his book, This Book Isn't Safe, is basically his YouTube videos in book format. Chaotic, crazy, and a little too busy for my tastes, but highly entertaining.
Here are my top 5 reasons for adding This Book Isn't Safe to my school's library.
1. S! T! E! A! M! What does that spell? STEAM!
Our school is really big on STEAM learning right now, and This Book Isn't Safe has ALL the STEAM components (fyi, science, technology, engineering, art, math).
2. Includes basic how-to's
My favorite parts of This Book Isn't Safe is actually all the basic how-to's Furze included in this book. Like "How to Saw Wood" and "How to Saw Tighten Nuts", which are supposedly basic skills but not something I know how to do and most like not something some students know how to do either. I like that even if the crazy inventions Furze included in the book may be beyond me (and some students), I can at least learn how to drill wood and metal. Safety was also highly emphasized, which is very good.
3. Step-by-step breakdown
The combination of pictures and the easy to follow instructions makes me think that with parental supervision and a little bit of their help (and all the materials on hand), most of the inventions in this book are definitely doable (unlike many of the crazy inventions on Furze YouTube channel). I do wish that more of the inventions included are more functional rather than just "cool" (I question the Bike-Wheel Fire Vortex), but that's the practical adult me talking.
4. Behind-the-scenes look of Furze's YouTube channel
Besides the inventions, Furze also included some tips and tricks to creating a successful and popular YouTube channel as well as some behind-the-scenes information like what's up with that exact same shirt and tie he wears in ALL of his videos. He also gives a tour of his two sheds--his space where he stores materials and spare parts and puts together his inventions and I have to admit, it's pretty cool. Furze also included his young sons putting together and testing out the inventions, which was nice to see and will hopefully inspire some parent-child bonding and building as well.
5. High energy
Like his YouTube videos, I think Furze did a good job maintaining that high energy that he has--that excitement--on paper. The pages are full of color and photos, there's a gaiety throughout that makes you really excited as you're flipping through the pages, which is what you want in a STEAM book. It gets the reader excited, and want to get out there and try to make and build stuff. I also like that it includes several blank pages and encourages the reader to come up with their own inventions, which is really what you want the students to ultimately do.
So, my librarian rating for This Book Isn't Safe is
Happy reading,
Michelle
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