Brandon is a veteran of the technology world and has spent his twenty-year career working as a programmer, architect, product manager and executive for a number of companies, across a variety of industries.
A tinkerer at heart, Brandon’s love for electronics extends back to the Nintendo Entertainment System he would take apart and reassemble when simply blowing on the cartridges didn’t work. Brandon is also a lover of story and has written and published several books and short stories. He lives in Austin, TX with his editor-in-chief and wife Sarah and three boys.
So when it comes to children’s books – Brandon has published two so far and both were initially successfully funded on Kickstarter. First, there was “Ed Gets His Power Back” back in 2017 and then a year later, the children’s book “Ellie Saves the Day” was launched. Both books share a common theme, which is to discover electronics through the power of story.
Images: (c) Brandon Satrom – used with permission
His first book, Ed Gets His Power Back, is the story of a green LED named Ed who learns to light himself up and complete a circuit with the help of his friends.
In the second kids book, Ellie Saves the Day, Ellie who is a blue LED learns to make her light blink and complete a circuit with the help of her friends.
Both books are beautifully illustrated and fun to read with your kids. But what is even better is that both books can be purchased with a STEAM kit, a component pack which includes either an electronic breadboard or a custom printed circuit board plus components. While reading the book or afterwards, you can then complete a basic but REAL electronic circuit and thereby continue to learn about the electronic components discussed in the real physical world.
Shownotes
- Brandon on Twitter
- Carrot Pants Press on Twitter
- Carrot Pants Press Facebook Page
- Carrot Pants Press on Instagram
- Ellie Saves the Day Kickstarter Page
- Ed Gets His Power Back Kickstarter Page
- Store: Carrot Pants Press Products
- PDF: Free STEAM Guide Book for basic electronic circuits
- Hackster.io
- Instructables
I reached out to my existing network of interviewees and asked them if they would be able to describe the current situation where they live and how it impacts their lives. I am also interested in finding out how parents, teachers and of course our kids deal with this situation and what great ideas they came up with to deal with the situation.
If you would like to describe your current situation in your country, please have a look at this PDF with the questions and some information about this initiative. You can easily record 3-5 minutes using this voice recording tool online. Once you’re done, just send the downloaded mp3 file to [email protected].
These short special episodes are recorded directly by former interviewees and everybody who has something to share. I will keep artwork and editing to a minimum to get these out as quickly as possible. I hope that many will find these snippets interesting and will find a helpful resource and tipps during these challenging times! Let’s turn this into a big lesson learnt!