Synopses & Reviews
Wild West chaos and creative problem solving are the force behind a well-loved American institution. Whatand#8217;s a California miner to do when gold dust sifts right out of his holey pockets? With such a raggedy wardrobe, he may as well be mining in the vanilla (that is, his birthday suit)! Good thing Levi Strauss is out west, ready with his needle and a head full of bright ideas. With some quick thinking, quicker stitching, and handy arithmetic, Levi keeps all the gold rushers clothedand#8212;and becomes a modern American hero. A Wild West tall tale, Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea celebrates creativity, innovation, and the ubiquitous item that fills the closets of grateful jeans wearers worldwide.
Review
"Focusing on the great inventor's youth, roughly from age eight to mid-20s, this anecdotal picture-book biography is both engaging and accessible. The concise narrative is sprinkled with original quotes and is well suited as a read-aloud...Brown's signature sketches combine digital imagery and watercolors and reflect the period costume and key moments in Edison's early life."--School Library Journal, starred review
"Brown (Teedie: The Story of Young Teddy Roosevelt) offers a folksy, episodic picture book biography of Edison's early years, highlighting his entrepreneurial spirit and love of experimentation, while incorporating a wealth of fascinating, little-known anecdotes about the accomplished inventor."--Publishers Weekly
Review
* andquot;Davisand#39; picture-book bio soars, inspires, and keeps (the pages) ever turningandquot;
andmdash;Booklist, starred review
andquot;The modernist look, inherently interesting topic, and strong documentation...make this title a positive addition.andquot;
andmdash;School Library Journal
andquot;Kids who take ferris wheels for granted should find this history eye-opening.andquot;
andmdash;Kirkus
andquot;Davisandrsquo;s picture-book account of the Ferris Wheel construction does a first-rate job of capturing the many risksandmdash;to civic pride, financial success, and public safetyandmdash;that attached to the first iteration of what most readers have already enjoyed as a local carnival attraction.andquot;
andmdash;Bulletin
andquot;Davis delivers a tense and satisfying underdog story, while Ford creates a stylized 19th-century landscape.andquot;
andmdash;Publishers Weekly
andquot;[An] informative and entertaining account.andquot;
andmdash;Wall Street Journal
Review
"By the second spread, with miners working in their long johns or, discreetly, "in the vanilla," listeners will be thoroughly hooked. The humor is broad and the language inventive, yet reminiscent of the times."--
Kirkus Reviews and#160;
"Johnston creates an unrepentantly exaggerated version of events that is sure to entertain, offering more factual information about Strauss in an author's note. Using a bright idea of his own, Innerst (Lincoln Tells a Joke) chronicles the raucous action in acrylic paintings on a canvas of, yes, old Levi's jeans. The denim's texture provides an appropriately rugged tone to the colorful proceedings."--Publishers Weekly,and#160;starred review
and#160; "An outlandish whopper of a tall tale, this story just begs to be read aloud with an old-timey Western accent. Johnston weaves together fact and fiction, resulting in a hilarious narrative about how Strauss became the denim king... A first choice for any collection, this book is worth its weight in denimand#8211;or gold."--School Library Journal, starred review
and#160;
"Johnston antes up the readaloudability with traditional tall-tale banter and a bold-faced "Dang!" every time Strauss gets a brainstorm. Innerst extends the fun by painting the sartorially challenged miners on, what else, blue jeans, craftily leaving the blue untouched for jeans, tents, chalkboards, ocean, and bay, and letting flat-felled seams do double duty as the floor of a covered wagon or the roadway of the Golden Gate Bridge."-Bulletin
Synopsis
A wizard from the start, Thomas Edison had a thirst for knowledge, taste for mischief, and hunger for discoveryand#151;but his success was made possible by his boundless energy. At age fourteen he coined his personal motto: and#147;The More to do, the more to be done,and#8221; and then went out and
did: picking up skills and knowledge at every turn. When learning about things that existed wasn't enough,and#160;he dreamed up new inventions to improve the world.
and#160;
From humble beginnings as a farmerand#8217;s son, selling newspapers on trains and reading through public libraries shelf by shelf, Tom began his inventing career as a boy and became a legend as a man.and#160;
Synopsis
From humble beginnings as a farmer's son, selling newspapers on trains, and reading through public libraries shelf by shelf, Tom began his inventing career as a boy and became a legend as a man. Full color.
Synopsis
A picture book biography profiling Thomas Edison's early life
Synopsis
Science, history,and#160;andand#160;engineeringand#160;combineand#160;in thisand#160;uplifting non-fiction picture book about the invention of the world's most iconic amusement park ride, the Ferris Wheel. and#160;
Synopsis
Capturing an engineerand#8217;s creative vision and mind for detail, this fully illustrated picture book biography sheds light on how the American inventor George Ferris defied gravity and seemingly impossible odds to invent the worldand#8217;s most iconic amusement park attraction, the Ferris wheel.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; A fun, fact-filled text by Kathryn Gibbs Davis combines with Gilbert Fordand#8217;s dazzling full-color illustrations to transport readers to the 1893 Worldand#8217;s Fair, where George Ferris and his big, wonderful wheel lifted passengers to the skies for the first time.
About the Author
Kathryn Gibbs Davisandnbsp;has a gift for combining history and storytelling in a manner that relates to readers of many ages. Her Wackiest Whiteandnbsp;House Pet earned the Parents Gold Choice Award and was read aloud by former First Lady Barbara Bush during a nationally televised event at the presidential library. Kathrynandnbsp;is an active member of the Childrenand#8217;s Literature Network. Visit gibbsdavis.com.
Gilbert Ford was born into a family of photographers. Instead of taking up the camera, he moved to New York to attend the prestigious Pratt Institute. His illustrations have appeared in books, magazines, newspapers, toys, billboards and advertisements. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Visit gilbertford.com.