The Greeks and Romans were the first to use a fork, but it was shaped like a claw and used in the kitchen for cooking, not for eating, which was done with their fingers. Later on, the Italians changed the claw to a spear-like fork with two prongs to pick up food, but they still used their fingers to eat. Over time the fork found its way to the tables of King Henri III and King Louis XIV, mostly as an ornament. By the end of the 17th century the fork looked like it does today and it was being used to eat. Now centuries later we have all kinds of forks for fish, cheese, salad, dessert. Little Inventions by Raphaël Fejtö is a series of kid-sized books about objects that children encounter every day with little thought of how, where and when they were invented. In fact, the beginnings of these common objects are fascinating and their true stories are told here in amusing anecdotes and charming illustrations. Each book closes with a memory game, making them useful for early reader groups.

The Romans made the first important discovery about vision. They found that you could see better by looking through a bowl of water, which made what you were looking at bigger. An English monk used glass to make a shaped magnifying device. Over time, these glass lenses got better, but the biggest problem was how to keep them on your head. Designs went from balancing the glasses on your nose to tying them with a ribbon, holding them with a handle, and then finally using wire arms that hook behind the ears. Little Inventions by Raphaël Fejtö is a series of kid-sized books about objects that children encounter every day with little thought of how, where and when they were invented. In fact, the beginnings of these common objects are fascinating and their true stories are told here in amusing anecdotes and charming illustrations. Each book closes with a memory game, making them useful for early reader groups.

The pen began as a sharpened reed used by Ancient Egyptians, but the reed point dulled quickly. It was replaced by a feather quill, then a steel-nibbed quill, a fountain pen, and finally the disposable Bic pen that was manufactured in the billions. Meanwhile, the Japanese and Chinese were using soft brushes and ink because regular pens were not useful for character writing. Only when the felt pen was invented did they switch. From those came the colored markers children use today. Little Inventions by Raphaël Fejtö is a series of kid-sized books about objects that children encounter every day with little thought of how, where and when they were invented. In fact, the beginnings of these common objects are fascinating and their true stories are told here in amusing anecdotes and charming illustrations. Each book closes with a memory game, making them useful for early reader groups.

Everyone knows that pizza came from Italy but they may not know that tomatoes came from the Americas. The Europeans thought tomatoes were poisonous until a brave Neapolitan chef named Raffaele smeared some cooked tomatoes on a thick pancake and baked it in a very hot wood oven. When a taste test didn't kill him, others tried it and word spread quickly about the delicious pizza. Queen Margherita tried the pizza and loved it. Chef Raffaele was so proud that he named his tomato, mozzarella, and basil pizza after the queen, and it is called that still today. Little Inventions by Raphaël Fejtö is a series of kid-sized books about objects that children encounter every day with little thought of how, where and when they were invented. In fact, the beginnings of these common objects are fascinating and their true stories are told here in amusing anecdotes and charming illustrations. Each book closes with a memory game, making them useful for early reader groups.

The Romans had public toilets that removed human waste to the river but 1,000 years later people went back to throwing their waste into the street! The Queen of England was desperate to get rid of the smell. Her godson installed a large container of water on the castle roof with a pipe down to the toilet. The water rushed down and washed away the waste into a pit that drained into the river. Paris became a big city and soon its river was very polluted. Baron Haussmann created a modern sewage system with pipes to almost every house and tunnels under the streets that took the dirty water to a river far away from Paris. Little Inventions by Raphaël Fejtö is a series of kid-sized books about objects that children encounter every day with little thought of how, where and when they were invented. In fact, the beginnings of these common objects are fascinating and their true stories are told here in amusing anecdotes and charming illustrations. Each book closes with a memory game, making them useful for early reader groups.