Blips on a Screen, Kate Hannigan
Blips on a Screen, Kate Hannigan
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Blips on a Screen
How Ralph Baer Invented TV Video Gaming and Launched a Worldwide Obsession

Author: Kate Hannigan

Narrator: Jamie K. Brown

Unabridged: 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/03/2022

Synopsis

An engaging biography based on the incredible true story of a Jewish refugee who pioneered home video games and launched a worldwide obsession.

Do you ever wonder how video gaming was invented? What came before your PlayStation or Xbox? This is the story of Ralph Baer, a refugee from Nazi Germany, who used his skills--and a lot of ingenuity and persistence--to make life a little more fun. 
 
Television was new when Ralph returned from serving in World War II, but he didn't settle for watching TV. He knew it could be even more fun if you could play with it. He tinkered and tested, got help and rejected, but with perseverance and skill, he made his vision come true! This is the inspiring story of a fearless inventor who made TV video games a reality.

About The Author

Kate Hannigan is the author of numerous children's books, including the middle-grade series The League of Secret Heroes, as well as the middle-grade novel The Detective's Assistant, which won the Golden Kite Award for best middle-grade fiction. Her debut picture book, A Lady Has the Floor: Belva Lockwood Speaks Out for Women's Rights, received four starred reviews, and was praised as "excellent" by Kirkus Reviews. Her other titles include a graphic novel, History Comics: The Great Chicago Fire, as well as the chapter book series Cupcake Cousins. Kate lives with her family in Chicago.Zachariah OHora is the prolific illustrator of the New York Times bestseller Wolfie the Bunny, which received four starred reviews and was praised by the Chicago Tribune as "pitch-perfect." He is also the author-illustrator of Stop Snoring Bernard!, which won the 2011 Society of Illustrators Founders Award and was the 2012 State of PA Dept of Ed One book, as well as Not Fits Nilson!, which received the PALA Carolyn W. Field Award, and was named the Huffington Post Best Children's Book of the Year, as well as a Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year and a New York Public Library Book for Reading and Sharing. Zachariah's other titles include My Cousin Momo!, The Teacher's Pet, The Not So Quiet Library, and Niblet & Ralph. He lives in Narberth, PA, with his family.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Becky on May 19, 2022

First sentence: Rudolf "Rolf" Baer loved games. Money and food had grown scarce everywhere after the Great Depression began in 1929. Premise/plot: Blips on a Screen is a picture book biography of Ralph Baer. (ETA: Perhaps this isn't quite true. It is limited in its scope. What we have is a focused b......more

Goodreads review by Villain on September 10, 2022

Honestly? I was so interested in this, I have no idea what my kids thought. A biography of Ralph Baer who invented the TV Video Game system. Wordy, as picture book biographies often are. Baer was a jewish kid whose family got out of Nazi Germany in 1938. He was working with machines from a young age.......more

Awards

  • Illinois Reader's Choice - Bluestem Award
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