Book guide: Inventor Johanna and the scare machine
What can we do when someone is shitty?
Oh! Johanna gets so angry! Too small to join? Johanna decides to invent a scare machine.
A machine that will silence all task roaches.
Questions about being shitty
Johanna is not allowed to play with the older girl. Did you say that someone can't join and play sometime? What happened then? Has it ever happened that you didn't get to join in and play? How did it feel?
Johanna thinks it's scary with the older girl, and then she makes an invention with things she thinks are scary. Like blood and broccoli. Are there things that you find scary? Things that scare you? If you were to make a scare machine, how would it work?
Do you think UpfinnarJohanna has ever been shitty? Do you think she's badass in the book? Have you ever been dirty or stupid yourself? What did you do?
Questions about inventions
Johanna's little brothers think she is good at inventing. It seems they are very proud of her. Why do you think they are proud? Is there someone or something you are proud of? What does it mean to be proud of someone or something?
Do you think Johanna's invention solves her problem with the roach? How? Are there other ways she could have done instead?
Make an inventor's workshop!
Bring out some different materials such as paper, scissors, glue, thread, steel wire and more so that the children can build and create. Or bring an old radio or other tech gadget that you take apart to see how things look inside.
About inventors
Problems breed inventions! Terese Alstin and Anna Haupt thought there should be a way to better protect people in bicycle accidents. So they invented Hövding. It is a kind of bicycle helmet that has the shape of a collar that one wears around the neck. The collar detects if you are in an accident and then inflates at lightning speed to protect your head and neck. Much like an airbag in a car. Smart huh? Another person named Lars-Anders Edström was on parental leave when he got tired of picking up old food from the sink with his hands and paper towels. That's how the idea for the slush scraper, or Renzi as he called it, was born. Today, it is found in most homes and makes everyday life easier for many.
