Author Barnas Monteith recommends Going Places, written by Peter H. Reynolds and Paul A. Reynolds and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.
“I recommend Going Places because the core message is very clear and very important for today’s young generation. It’s something that I’ve personally said over and over to children I’ve worked with and mentored over the years and that is: ‘Think outside the box!’ Whether you’re entering a go cart build competition, a hackathon, a science and engineering fair, or something else that challenges you to use your mind to solve a real world problem, it’s best to be as creative as possible and blaze your own pathway to innovation. That’s how the world’s greatest inventions and discoveries have been made. And that’s how to succeed in life, no matter what age you are… just like young Maya in Going Places who enters her local car build and racing competition. Only, Maya chooses not to assemble the same simple, boxed kit that everyone else makes — she decides to use some parts that aren’t inside the kit to make a car that can fly! Needless to say, Maya’s flying car went far above and beyond all the other entrants, and in the end she proves that raw ingenuity is the key to ‘going places’ in life. The artwork is wonderful and brightly colored – as all of Peter Reynolds’ books are; and the story is imaginative and very well written. I believe Going Places leaves young readers with a yearning to go off and imagine something wonderfully unique to build, themselves.”
Going Places (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014) is recommended for ages 4-8.
Be sure to check out Monteith’s books The Furious Case of the Fraudulent Fossil, illustrated by Min-Chun Huang and with the cover illustration by Barnas Monteith (Tumblehome Learning, 2012); The Harrowing Case of the Hackensack Hacker, illustrated by Yu-Yu Chin (Tumblehome Learning, 2013); and Dinosaur Eggs and Blue Ribbons (Tumblehome Learning, 2015).
Learn more at MisterScienceFair.com.