Goldie isn’t the only kid engineer on the block. Kick World Book Day into gear today and every day with our favorite jane-of-all-trades and other spunky literary inventors who put the “girl” in “girl power.”

Goldie Blox and the Best Friend Fail

By Stacy McAnulty

Ages 6-12

Goldie wants to throw her BFF Ruby the best birthday celebration ever, but her ever-more-ambitious plans quickly go horribly—and comically—awry. Turns out, you can hack just about anything, but friendship demands an entirely different approach.

Ruby Goldberg’s Bright Idea

Written by Anna Humphrey and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Ages 8-12

Ruby Goldberg is determined to snag first prize at her fifth-grade science fair—and beat her nemesis for a change. She sets her mind on building a Rube Goldberg-type machine, one that will not only impress the judges but also cheer up her grieving grandfather after the death of his dog. But can Ruby find her work-school-life balance? Or will her obsession take over to the exclusion of everything else that matters, including friends and family?

Rosie Revere, Engineer

Written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts

Ages 5-8

When Rosie’s great-great-aunt Rose expresses her unfulfilled wish to fly, the avid gadgeteer decides to construct a machine that will soar above the clouds. But her contraption doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. It hovers, then crashes to the ground. Rosie labels her work—and herself— a massive flop, but Aunt Rose knows better: failures are just a different type of success.

Yasmin the Builder

Written by Saadia Faruqi and illustrated by Hatem Aly

Ages 5-8

Yasmin’s class is building a city from a boxful of parts. Everyone seems to know what they want to make, except for Yasmin, whose doodles and sketches go nowhere. But inspiration can strike anytime and anyplace, and when Yasmin finally connects the dots, she ends up creating something that brings everyone in the room together.

Ada Lace, on the Case

Written by Emily Calandrelli and illustrated by Renée Kurilla and Tamson Weston

Ages 6-12

Scientist. Inventor. Detective. Ada Lace wears many hats for a third-grader. So when her neighbor’s Yorkie gets dognapped, who else but Ada is better-equipped to root out the perpetrator? And equipped is right: With her expanding collection of gizmos—plus, her best friend Nina at her side—Ada is ready to crack the case wide open.

The Most Magnificent Thing

Written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

Ages 3-7

A girl has the idea to make “the most magnificent thing,” but what she pictures in her head doesn’t match up with reality. She “tinkers and hammers and measures,” “smoothes and wrenches and fiddles,” and “twists and tweaks and fastens,” but nothing seems to work. In the end, she gets so frustrated she decides to quit the project altogether. But her dog convinces her to take a walk to clear her head, and when the girl returns, refreshed and ready to try again, everything finally falls into place.