It all started one Monday morning at school.
"It" was my idea—my first invention!
We were sitting in class, coloring maps.
I don't understand why our teacher, Mrs. Romano, makes us color maps.
She acts as if we are in first grade instead of fourth grade.
Does she really think we still like to color?
"Use bright colors!"
Mrs. Romano said, walking around the room.
I colored North America green.
I colored South America orange.
I colored Africa yellow.
Then I started working on Asia, which is a really big continent.
My hand was getting tired.
I stopped to give it a rest.
My friend Molly leaned toward me.
"Psst, Iggy!" she whispered.
"My hand hurts from coloring!"
"So does mine!" I said.
"Quiet, please!" said Mrs. Romano.
"All I want to hear is the sound of crayons moving across the paper."
Mrs. Romano wanted to hear the sound of crayons moving across the paper?
I was so tired of that sound!
"Why aren't there machines to do coloring?"
I thought suddenly.
"Then kids wouldn't have to work so hard."
That was when I got my idea—a truly incredible idea.
It could make me, Iggy, a famous inventor!
I told Molly about my idea on the way home from school.
"Wow!" said Molly.
"If your idea works, we'll never have to color by hand again!"
Our school is near the apartment building where Molly and I live.
Our apartments are both on the fifth floor.
That means we have to climb a lot of stairs every day.
"Whew, I wish our backpacks weren't so heavy!" I groaned.
"Me too," she agreed, panting hard.
I said good-bye to Molly and then went into my apartment.
My mom was on the telephone in the kitchen.
She waved to me as I walked by.
I went into my bedroom and dumped my heavy backpack on the floor.
One of its straps fell just over the chalk line on the floor.
My older brother, Tate, had drawn the line to divide our room into two sections.
"Hey, get your backpack off my side of the room!"
Tate ordered me.
"It's my room too!" I shot back.
"No arguing, boys!" called my mother from the kitchen.
I decided to go down to the fourth floor and see my friend Josh.
I wanted to get away from Tate.
Plus, I needed help with my invention.
I knocked on the door of his apartment, and Josh answered right away.
"Hi, Josh!" I said.
Josh invited me in.
"Do you know that toy that Sparky likes?" I blurted out.
Sparky is Josh's pet hamster.
"His seesaw?" Josh asked.
He walked over to Sparky's cage and lifted up the toy.
"Yes, that's it," I said.
"Can I borrow it?
I want to make one just like it."
"Why?" asked Josh.
"I have a brilliant idea!" I said.
"I'm going to invent an automatic coloring machine!
My hand will never get tired from coloring again."
Josh's eyes lit up.
"Cool," he said. "How will it work?"
"You'll see!" I told him.
"Let's show Sparky's seesaw to Mr. Calabria, the building superintendent.
He has a lot of wood downstairs."
We went down the steps to the building's basement.
Mr. Calabria was in his workroom surrounded by tools and wood scraps.
He smiled at us.
"Is your kitchen faucet leaking again, Iggy?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"Our faucet is working fine."
"Then do you have another problem?" he asked.
"He has something, Mr. Calabria!" Josh burst out.
"But it's not a problem—it's an amazing, incredible idea!"