The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World

Dylan Thuras, Jennifer Swanson, Ruby Fresson

$34.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Workman Publishing
12 August 2025

Children's & Educational; General knowledge & trivia (Children's&YA); People & places (Children's&YA); Mysteries & the supernatural (Children's&YA)

The team behind the bestselling Atlas Obscura presents a kids' illustrated STEM-oriented exploration of the world's most interesting technologies, inventions, and scientific discoveries.

Following up on the New York Times bestselling Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide for the World's Most Adventurous Kid, with more than 200,000 copies in print, here is a globe-spanning history of invention like no other. This illustrated and STEM-oriented exploration of the planet's 94 most interesting inventions and scientific discoveries sends middle-grade readers on an unforgettable trip around the planet and across time.

Each spread focuses on a world-changing technology and how it led to or influenced the tech or discovery on the next page. Starting with the very first invention, fire, readers will spelunk the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa for evidence of humankind's earliest control of flames, then learn how fire is necessary to create another essential tech: glass, including the modern-day glass bridge in Zhangjiajie, China, that offers a crystal-clear (and terrifying!) view of the chasm 1,300 feet below.

As you gaze at comets through telescopes, create unbreakable codes, zap space garbage with lasers, and break supersonic records in the world's fastest car, gorgeously illustrated scenes will transport readers across continents and centuries into a world of wonder and discovery.

By: Dylan Thuras, Jennifer Swanson
Illustrated by: Ruby Fresson
Imprint: Workman Publishing
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 304mm, Width: 236mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 960g
ISBN: 9781523516889
ISBN 10: 1523516887
Pages: 112
Publication Date: 12 August 2025
Recommended Age: From 8 to 12 years
Audience: Children/juvenile , English as a second language
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dylan Thuras is the cofounder and creative director of Atlas Obscura. He lives in Rosendale, NY. This author is represented by the Hachette Speakers Bureau.