Kit's Says 'I Made That!': Being Proud of What You Create

Book 10 of Kit's Little Sparks. By Chris Kuczynski.

Kit's invention has a name. Now Kit has something to say about it. Kit takes a deep breath. Kit looks up. And Kit says it, loud and proud and out loud: I made that.

Three words. Three of the most important words a child will ever say. "I made that" is the moment self-worth becomes specific. It's not "I'm good." It's not "I'm proud." It's "I, this small person standing right here, made the thing that exists in front of you." That is identity-shaping, and it is the single most important sentence Kit teaches in the entire 20-book series.

Book 10 is the emotional peak of Series 1. Every book before it has built toward this moment. Kit noticed, Kit felt, Kit drew, Kit built, Kit tried again, Kit fixed, Kit named, and now Kit claims. The illustration on the title spread is intentionally large: Kit, full-page, beaming, holding the invention high. The text is spare so the picture does the work.

Illustrated in watercolor with the brightest palette of the series. Sturdy board pages. Free read-along audio with a triumphant version of the catchphrase. Free educator guide with a "what I made today" classroom ritual teachers can adopt.

For parents who want their child to feel proud of their work, out loud. For preschool teachers building healthy self-attribution. For caregivers raising children who will not shrink from claiming what they made.

Written by Chris Kuczynski, an engineer for the first twelve years of his career, then a registered patent attorney, and a co-founder of a preschool. He wrote the Kit's Little Sparks series to give two to four year-olds the language of invention long before kindergarten.

Help your child say I made that with pride today. Take a picture of something they invented and put it on the fridge. Write their name and the date on it. Book 11 is where Kit learns the next big thing: making something is only half the story.