I love to read. Before I could read by myself, my mom read stories to me a lot. Some stories were my favorite because of the pictures, while others were my favorite because they let me imagine things I had never seen or heard before, and I liked using my imagination.
Books can be good tools to give people good ideas. Since we’re always looking for good ideas in MAKESHOP, we started doing a Maker Story Time. My friend Henry and I get to read stories and try out new materials and experiments once we get some good ideas from the stories.
James and the Giant Peach illustration (credit: “A List” by Christina Wolfgram)
One of my favorite books from my childhood is James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. In the story, a boy named James has adventures in a magical, giant peach. He becomes friends with insects like a grasshopper and a spider, and meets Cloud-Men, who control the weather. The best thing about James and the Giant Peach was getting a chance to think about things in a new way, from bugs who could talk and be nice to humans to a peach pit that could be big enough for a person to live in it.
James and the Giant Peach is a great story to inspire new creations that live in the sky. When MAKESHOP turned into Skyworld and had all kinds of creations hanging from the ceiling, I thought of James and the Giant Peach. Books that inspire making don’t necessarily have to be about making–they can just help you think about a new idea or get excited about how someone else used his or her imagination. Henry and I can’t wait to see what people think of making after every Maker Story Time!
Here’s a pig that flew in Skyworld. Can pigs really fly, or did someone use his or her imagination to make this?
[Ed. Note: Check the calendar for upcoming Maker Story Time dates!]
