A Tinkering Bibliography
As part of the process of putting together my new book, The Tinkering Workshop, I spent a lot of time looking over the myriad books that have inspired me over the years and researching possible additions to the list of publications that spark new ideas.
As part of the lead up to the release of my book on October 15th 2024, I wanted to share with you a few of my personal “reading lists” that I put together on goodreads that contain some of my top recommendations for building your own tinkering library at home, in a classroom or in your makerspace. I’ve divided the lists into tinkering projects, inspirations, books for educators and caregivers and children’s story books but of course, there are lots of overlap between the categories.
The first book list focuses on providing starting points for open ended tinkering projects. These suggestions include some general tinkering activity books like The Art of Tinkering by Mike Petrich and Karen Wilkinson and Tinkerlab by Rachelle Doorley. There are also many project books that focus on a specific theme like Build your own Chain Reaction Machine by Paul Long, I Felt Awesome by Moxie and Cabaret Mechanical Movement by Gary Alexander. I also included books like Gever Tulley’s 50 Dangerous Things that doesn’t specifically provide tinkering projects but instead focuses on the skills of curiosity, independence and self-guided learning that make up a tinkering mindset.
The next category consists of books that go a bit deeper into the mindset of artists, makers and educators that bring a tinkering approach into their process. Books like Textile Messages by Leah Buechley, The Great Pretender by Theo Jansen and Things Come Apart by Todd Mclellan give an artist perspective. Seeing Science by Iris Gottleib, Everything there is to Know by Tim Hunkin and Open Circuits by Windell Oskay offer endless pathways for curious exploration. And I’m always interested in reading more about inspiring environments for learning in books like Girls Garage by Emily Piloton, Everything has a Shadow Except for Ants by Reggio Children and the Exploratorium’s Cookbook series.
The next list goes a bit more into a meta-view of the learning that happens through tinkering and the ways that teachers, informal educators and caregivers can put these ideas into practice. Some are classics of the genre like Mindstorms by Seymour Papert, Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks, How Children Learn by John Holt and The Having of Wonderful Ideas by Eleanor Duckworth. Some of these books focus on adding technology to tinkering projects like Lifelong Kindergarten by Mitchell Resnick and Techno-Vernacular Creativity and Innovation by Nettrice Gaskins.
And finally I added a fun list of children’s story and exploration books that have inspired me over the years. Some of them were favorites of my childhood like Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by Willian Steig or Animalia by Graeme Base. Others I’m discovering now reading to my son like The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown or Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers. I think books that express imagination and whimsy relate directly to tinkering themes and ideas and I’m always on the lookout for more books that expand possibilities for everyday objects like Mimbo Jimbo Makes Art by Jakob Martin Strid or It Might be an Apple by Shinsuke Yoshitake. If you want more ideas for this list, the Tinkering Studio has also put together a great collection of children’s books that relate to tinkering topics like motion, light and shadow and balance.
I hope you enjoy these reading lists and please let me know what other books you would add to each of the different categories (or which new categories you would add)! While you’re on goodreads, I would appreciate it if you added my new book The Tinkering Workshop to your “want to read” list (as well as any other recommendations that inspire you). You can also follow my author page there to get announcements about the book release and special offers and events. Happy reading and happy tinkering.