FROM HERE TO THERE: INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY THE WORLD MOVES (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, January 19, 2021) 

***** A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION *****

Celebrating the invention of vehicles and things that help people move, this collective biography tells the inspiring stories of nine visionaries who changed the way we move across air, water, and land. Perfect for fans of Mistakes that Worked and Girls Think of Everything.

In a time when people believed flying was impossible, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier proved that the sky wasn’t the limit. When most thought horseback was the only way to race, Bertha and Karl Benz fired up their engines. From the invention of the bicycle and the passenger steam locomotive, to the first liquid-fuel propelled rocket and industrial robot, inventors across the world have redefined travel. Filled with informative sidebars and colorful illustrations, this collective biography tells the story of the experiments, failures, and successes of visionaries who changed the way the world moves.

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STARRED REVIEW FROM KIRKUS:
 The text is supported by full-colored cartoon illustrations that enhance the text. Additional facts appear on the bottoms of various pages, supplementing the narrative without distracting from the main text. Educators will also delight in the hefty amount of supplemental backmatter. Source notes guide readers through quotes included, and a selected bibliography offers both print and web-accessible fodder for curious readers hoping to learn more about each inventor. Historical illustrations in the bibliography welcome readers to explore. A timeline that runs across the endpapers helps anchor the subjects and their inventions in history.

GLOWING REVIEW FROM BOOKLIST:
Each step in the history of technology was once a new idea developed with curiosity, ingenuity, and determination. In this colorful, large-format book, Kirkfield tells 10 stories about inventions that are related in some way to transportation. Arranged chronologically, the chapters begin in 1783, with the Montgolfier brothers ascending in their hot-air balloon, and conclude with the story of Raye Montague, a Black woman who joined the U.S. Navy as a clerk-typist in 1956, took an interest in computers, and rose through the ranks to head a team of engineers that would revolutionize ship design in 1970. In other intriguing chapters, Karl Drais invents the bicycle, Bertha Benz ventures forth in an early automobile, and Robert Goddard experiments with liquid-fuel-propelled rockets. Kirkfield has a knack for finding elements of human interest as well as historical significance in each account. The colorful, dynamic illustrations help readers visualize the times as well as the challenges faced by the inventors. 

PRAISE FROM BCCB:
Kirkfield examines nine inventions that encourage middle grade readers to think about what it takes to conquer distance:
Each tidily crafted tale is flexible as a read-alone or -along, and the heavily illustrated volume also functions like a collection of stand-alone picture books