This post reminded me of an article I read about a surgical robotics specialist who wrote a kid's book about 'malleable intelligence' for her niece to encourage learning in non-traditional fields (like robotics). Here's the link to the article if you want to read it: Meet Carol Reiley, a Johns Hopkins robotics scientist who's written a book for kids | Hub. Lego Mindstorm has found a lot of success with kids -- but that's brand power for you.
Have fun!