Never Give Up

5/3/2018

Izzy Gizmo by Pip Jones ill Sara Ogilvie

There's a new little inventor in Kid Lit and her name is Izzy Gizmo. She maintains a massive collection of various pieces and parts. Always on the lookout for new and creative invention ideas, she designs such items as a spaghetti eating contraption and a mechanized teapot. Unfortunately, many of these brilliant ideas do not work out. It is only when she recognizes the need to help a crow with a broken wing that Izzy's efforts succeed.

Everything about this book is a delight! The title is spelled out in stylized letters resembling gears and parts. Wide-eyed Izzy: sporting round spectacles, pencil behind the ear, and held aloft with a bizarre contraption is the epitome of our plucky young heroine. End papers created from relief images of moving parts echo the theme. Then there's Izzy's ever-present tool belt and her boots. How could I forget the boots?

Pip Jones’ rhyming text is lively, making this picture book an excellent read aloud. Words such as “tweak" "glitch" "piston" "circuits" and "sprockets” provide opportunities for discussion and exploration.

Sara Ogilvie's illustrations capture the enthusiasm, discouragement, and determination of young Izzy. However, grandpa often steals the show. His long-suffering patience with Izzy and her string of inventions, allowing himself to be the object of her study, is priceless. His optimism after his granddaughter shaves a large swath down the middle of his head, is a testament to the power of his love. When Izzy gets discouraged, his never-failing confidence in her ability to solve a problem spurs her on.

After a long string of failures, Izzy is determined to try and help her friend fly again. Her willingness to try, fail, and try, try again offers reassurance to creative thinkers and problem-solvers everywhere. There’s a lesson here: desire, determination, creativity, and learning from mistakes is the formula for solving problems.