Rosie Revere's Big Project Book for Bold Engineers
The Story of Rosie Revere Engineer Rosie Revere is a shy second grader in Miss Lila Greer’s classroom at Blue River Creek She dreams of becoming a great engineer but she never lets anyone know about her dreams When Rosie was young she made amazing inventions for her uncles and aunts Everyone loved her inventions Nobody loved them more than her uncle Zookeeper Fred Rosie invented a special hat for keeping snakes off his head She used parts of a fan and some cheddar-cheese spray which everyone knows keeps pythons away Uncle Fred loved it so much that he couldn’t contain his joy He burst out laughing He laughed so hard that he slapped his knee and his eyes filled with tears 2
But Rosie misunderstood She thought that he was laughing at her and it broke her heart Perhaps she couldn’t become an engineer after all From that day Rosie kept her inventions and her dreams to herself When Rosie was in second grade her great-great aunt came for a visit Her name was Rose Great Great-Aunt Rose told Rosie about all the amazing things she had done in her life She had had many thrills and had even built enormous airplanes to help her country Great-Great-Aunt Rose had done lots of exciting things but there was one thing left on her list of adventures She wanted to fly But now that she was old she didn’t think she would ever get the chance That night Rosie tried to sleep but she couldn’t She kept thinking about Great-Great-Aunt Rose Rosie wondered if she could create a gizmo to help her aunt fly But when she thought about Uncle Fred’s cheese hat she felt sad No she thought I can’t help 3
However some questions are tricky and this one would not let go of Rosie It kept her awake all night and when morning came she knew just how to make her aunt fly She worked and worked and worked Finally at the end of the day she was done Rosie dragged her invention onto the lawn to give it a test and see if it would be a ridiculous flop Rosie climbed into the cockpit She flipped on the switch The heli-o-cheese-copter shuddered and shook It lunged and lurched It whirled around and around in the air Then it froze for a heartbeat and CRASH it hit the ground Rosie heard someone laughing and wheezing It was Great-Great-Aunt Rose who slapped her knee and laughed so hard that her eyes filled with tears Just like Uncle Fred Rosie’s heart was broken all over again and she knew that she would never be a great engineer 4
Rosie turned around to leave but Great-Great-Aunt Rose hugged her tight and kissed her You did it Hurray she said It’s the perfect first try Rosie did not understand It crashed she said The heli-o-cheese-copter failed Of course said her great-great-aunt Your brilliant first flop was a raging success I can’t wait for the next one Let’s get working Then she gave young Rosie a notebook and pencil and it all became clear Life might have its failures but failing is just part of learning The only true failure can come if you quit Great-Great-Aunt Rose tied her headscarf around Rosie’s head and they worked together until it was time for bed And when she slept Rosie Revere dreamed the bold dreams of a great engineer 5
