How It's Made

 

How Is a Firework Made? by Grace Hanson

 

Have you ever wondered about how the things around you were made? The nitty-gritty details of how exactly things are created can be complex, but there are also simplified overviews of these processes that can be just as interesting! 

 

How Is a Firework Made? by Grace Hanson gives a great peek behind the scenes of how fireworks are made. We learn that "stars" are the parts of a firework that make them a certain color, shape, or sound, and that all fireworks are made by hand as it is too dangerous for machines to make them (wild!). 

This book is part of a series that also includes insight into other processes, too, such as How Is a Pencil Made?, How Is Cotton Candy Made?, How is Honey Made?, How is Maple Syrup Made?, and How Is Root Beer Made?.

Because these books are published by Abdo Kids, they also includes a special code in the back you can enter at abdokids.com to learn even more! The content on abdokids.com is specially curated for young learners, prek-2nd grade, but has interesting information for all ages. You do need the special code found in the back of the book to access this resource, so check one of these books out today and learn more!

 

  

In addition to this series, we have several others that follow the process of creation of some of our favorite things, like Cocoa Bean to Chocolate by Robin Nelson, or Milk to Ice Cream by Stacy Taus-Bolstad. Or even a whole series on how things are built, like Building a Rollercoaster by Karen Latchana Kenney, or Building a Stadium by Angie Smibert. 

 

 

Reading each of these books is a bit like traveling to factories along side Mr. Rogers in the factory visit segments of his show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. These "field trips" on Mr. Rogers' show helped educate young viewers on the process of creation and that things don't just happen by magic! As Mr. Rogers himself said,

When we show factories, they certainly have fascinating machines, but I always emphasize that it takes people to make machines and to make them work.  I like children to know that people can take pride in their work and that everyone’s job is important.

Mr. Rogers was a big advocate for connecting children to the world around them, whether through learning how things are manufactured, or how to be a good friend and neighbor. We have two documentaries about his life, Won't You Be My Neighbor, and It's You I Like that take you behind the scenes to get to know this incredible advocate better.

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Seeing "behind the scenes" can be fun! Is there a time that you got a sneak peak at the process of something you were interested in?