A Compendium of Curious Contraptions: A Guessing Game About History's Most Unusual Artifacts

by Anna Goldfield, Paula Zamudio (Illustrator), Neon Squid

Overview

An illustrated guide to some of the most bizarre objects from history by archaeologist Anna Goldfield, including a guessing game for kids to play!

Each page contains a mystery item from the past, with a set of clues as to what it was used for. Readers can take a guess before unfolding a giant flap to reveal the answer. Without giving too much away, the book contains Inuit snow goggles, designed to protect eyes from the blinding glare of the ice, an ancient Chinese earthquake detector featuring several metal frogs, and err.. the Royal fistula—an item used to perform delicate surgery on the rear end of King Louis XIV of France.

Kids will delight in trying to work out the purpose of the beautiful objects, brought to life by Mexican illustrator Paula Zamudio, and will learn a lot about the cultures that created them – from ancient Rome to Polynesia, and Mesopotamia to Viking Scandinavia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684494538
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	8 - 10 Years

About the Author

Anna Goldfield is a podcaster, science writer, illustrator, archaeologist, and creator of all sorts of content to introduce people to the study of the world around us and its past. Anna works on the kids’ science podcast Brains On! and presents the popular archaeology podcast The Dirt. Anna is also the author of The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions by Neon Squid.

Paula Zamudio is an illustrator born and raised in the south of Mexico. She’s loved drawing from the moment she first held a pencil, and as a child was inspired by fantasy and adventure picture books as well as anime. Paula loves making art with special care for texture, colour and gesture, and she is inspired by nature, fashion from different eras, fantasy, antiques, and her two cats.

Editorial Reviews

"Young readers can practice being archaeologists with this collection of enigmatic objects from history... Once they’ve made their guess, readers can lift a flap to find the answer, such as an ancient Roman oil lamp or an ancient Chinese earthquake detector. This interactive nonfiction offering turns STEM into high-interest detective work." —Booklist

"Drawing on historical objects from a range of places and times, this lift-the-flap exploration of history’s mysteries is a quirky, engaging read... For those who enjoy random facts, bite-sized information, and occasionally gross history, this book will offer them even more fuel for their curiosity... A must-purchase text for history sleuths as well as for general use in schools or in classroom library ­reference collection." —School Library Journal

"The selection of items is excellent, and the information about them expansive. We’re never too old for guessing games or lift-the-flap books, and here we also enter vividly into the realm of global cultures... An absorbing trip through an eclectic, fascinating museum of mostly ancient inventions." —Kirkus

From the Publisher