Explanation: Franz dreamed of being an inventor, and as he grew up, he collected trash, trinkets and treasures, imagining what he could create with them. At the age of 48, he was inspired at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium. For years, he worked in secret, putting together the objects he collected to build a mysterious, fantastic, phantasmagorical machine. Over 23 years, his machine grew to 6 m (20 ft.) long, 3 m (10 ft.) high and 2 m (7 ft.) wide.
Further reading: To read more about Franz, borrow Franz’s Phantasmagorical Machine by Beth Anderson and illustrated by Caroline Hamel from your library. You can also ask the library staff to help you find more picture book biographies or children’s non-fiction books or biographies on inventors.