The Greatest Mistakes That Went Right; Maddy Mara, illustrated by Cheryl Orsini

What do William Henry Perkin, Maria Ann Smith, Garrett A Morgan and Wilson Greatbatch have in common? They all discovered or invented something that arose from a mistake.

It would be awesome if everything we tried worked out right but often this is not the case. Mistakes happen, things go wrong and we can be left feeling flustered and frustrated. However, this doesn’t mean that we should stop trying because every so often something incredible happens. Colours and fruits, traffic lights and toys, medicines and medical devices, all began with a little slip-up…

It’s all well and good encouraging children to try new things and to not be worried of making mistakes but sometimes words of encouragement are not enough. So how about some actual tales of people making some rather big slip-ups that yielded the most surprising and unusual results.

Introducing seven famous, and in some cases, not so famous, faces from the past, ‘The Greatest Mistakes That Went Right’ is filled with brilliant blunders, marvellous mishaps, amazing accidents and magnificent mistakes that led to incredible ideas and daring discoveries.

Maddy Mara’s playful rhyming text and Cheryl Orsini’s colourful artwork invite readers into a wonderful world that celebrates some very significant mishaps. Step into the laboratory of Sir Alexander Fleming, the creator of Penicillin, jump into the home of Kay Zufall, whose wall cleaner is now better known as Play-Doh and hop into the office of Richard T James, who couldn’t believe his eyes when a spring fell off a shelf and tumbled down to the floor. Each individual is profiled in further detail in a brilliant double page spread at the end.

Mistakes and mishaps reign supreme in this lively and engaging non-fiction narrative. Not only is it a great deal of fun and an absolute joy to read, it is educational and delivers a fantastic message that will hopefully encourage children to give things a go and to celebrate their mistakes. Don’t be surprised if readers want to start burying fruit pips to try and grow a new fruit or start making potions to invent a new colour. Who knows, the next slip-up may just be the beginning of a big invention or discovery!

With huge thanks to Affirm Press for the copy I received in exchange for an honest review.

Recommended for 4+.