Television, we all watch it and sets can be found in nearly every home in the country. Watching television is one of the nation’s most favourite pastimes, watching everything from news to reality tv and children’s cartoons to blockbuster movies. Televisions have changed a lot over the years, from big bulky boxes with black & white images with no sound to colour roll-up screens with high-definition surround sound. But with something so prominent in nearly every household, how many people know how it came into existence? In the latest picture book from Maverick Books, Mister T.V., written by Julie Fulton and illustrated by Patrick Corrigan, looks at one of the inventors of the television set, John Logie Baird.
The television set wasn’t built by one person. In fact, over 50 people around the world were working on it. In 1926, John Logie Baird, a Scottish engineer, was the first person to build a working mechanical television (called the televisor) and the first to transmit live, moving pictures. Mister T.V. is his story.
Mister T.V. is a snapshot of John Logie Baird and his inventions, from being a child to adulthood. From a young age he was inventing things using bits and pieces found around the house. His inventions included a telephone exchange that the telephone company put a stop to. Even into adulthood, he didn’t have much money and he still collected bits and pieces to create his inventions.
A lot of his experiments failed but John never gave up and he preserved, improving his inventions and inventing new things, ensuring his place in history. A lot of his inventions are still in use today.
Overall, Mister T.V. is an excellent book that introduces children to one of the great inventors of our time. This book gives an insight into science and inventing as well as being inquisitive, patience, motivation and perseverance – a great example of “if at first you don’t succeed, try again”.
The text is written in a fun and easy to read way that children will understand and enjoy. The illustrations are big and vivid, clearly explaining what is going on.
The book is also filled with fun facts about inventions throughout history and their timeline including, John’s exploits into the development of radar, infrared night vision, fibre-optics and even 3D TV.
This is a great book to help teach children about the history of one of the world’s greatest (and probably most used) inventions in a fun and informative way. Hopefully giving them an interest in science whilst teaching them to try hard in everything they do. Mister T.V. is an excellent biography of a very clever inventor who changed the world forever and something that children can relate to as we still use his invention 94 years later.
A great kickstart into history and science.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £7.99 (paperback)
For more information, visit maverickbooks.co.uk. Available to buy from Amazon here.
