Synopses & Reviews
Electric Ben is now a 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Book Award Winner, a Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book, a Horn Fanfare Book, and a Robert F. Sibert Honor book!
a true standout
bright, witty, informative and cleverly organized as the man himself.” The New York Times
A true Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin was the first American celebrity. In pictures and text, master artist Robert Byrd documents Franklin's numerous and diverse accomplishments, from framing the Constitution to creating bifocals. The witty, wise, and endlessly curious Franklin is the perfect subject for Byrd's lively style and vibrant art. The pages pulse with facts, quotes, and captions, while the inventive design and intricately detailed illustrations make a striking tribute to the brilliant American.
Review
"A beautifully realized labor of love and affection brings to life one of our brightest founding fathers." -
Kirkus Book Reviews, starred review
"...this book shimmers with excitement, begging to be read." - The Horn Book, starred review
"It's a fascinating and comprehensive portrait, and an asset for student research." - Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Large in format and ambitious in scope, this appealingly designed book spotlights Benjamin Franklin and
his times." - Booklist, starred review
"Author/illustrator Robert Byrd presents highlights of the long and varied life of one of Americas most famous citizens in this picture book biography." - Library Media Connection, starred review
“a true standout…bright, witty, informative and cleverly organized as the man himself.” - The New York Times
Electric Ben is the 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Book Award Winner, a 2013 Bank Street Best Book of the Year, a 2013 Golden Kite Honor book, a Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2012, a 2012 Horn Fanfare Book, and a 2012 Robert F. Sibert Honor book!
Review
andquot;This appealing concoction is a powerful reminder of the good one person can do.andquot;
andmdash;Kirkusand#160;
Synopsis
St. George and Small, the Caldecott Medal-winning team who created
So You Want to Be President?, are back with another spirited and witty look at history-this time focusing on the inventors and inventions who have given us lightbulbs, automobiles, and all the other things that keep the world humming.
So You Want to Be an Inventor? features some of the world's best-known inventors-Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Eli Whitney-as well as lesser-known geniuses like Georges de Mestral (inventor of Velcro), Wilhelm Roentgen (inventor of X rays), and Hedy Lamarr (inventor of a system that became the basis for satellite communication-who knew?). Whether you're a dreamer or a loner, a copycat or a daredevil, this book might just inspire readers to invent something that could change the world!
Synopsis
Famous in his time as a painter, prankster, and philosopher, Leonardo da Vinci was also a musician, sculptor, and engineer for dukes, popes, and kings. What remains of his work-from futuristic designs and scientific inquiry to artwork of ethereal beauty-reveals the ambitious, unpredictable brilliance of a visionary, and a timeless dreamer.
Robert Byrd celebrates this passionate, playful genius in a glowing picture book replete with the richness and imagination of Leonardo's own notebooks. Twenty lavish spreads, including side drawings, supplemental texts, and quotes from Leonardo's writings, highlight distinct periods and make the master's art, jokes, explorations, and inventions wonderfully vivid and accessible. A striking tribute to an irrepressible mind and to the potential within all who are curious.
Synopsis
Famous in his time as a painter, prankster, and philosopher, Leonardo da Vinci was also a musician, sculptor, and engineer for dukes, popes, and kings. What remains of his work-from futuristic designs and scientific inquiry to artwork of ethereal beauty-reveals the ambitious, unpredictable brilliance of a visionary, and a timeless dreamer.
Robert Byrd celebrates this passionate, playful genius in a glowing picture book replete with the richness and imagination of Leonardo's own notebooks. Twenty lavish spreads, including side drawings, supplemental texts, and quotes from Leonardo's writings, highlight distinct periods and make the master's art, jokes, explorations, and inventions wonderfully vivid and accessible. A striking tribute to an irrepressible mind and to the potential within all who are curious.
Synopsis
A stirring picture book biography about a forgotten hero of the American Revolution who rose to the occasion and served his country, not with muskets or canons, but with gingerbread!
Synopsis
Christopher Ludwick was a German-born American patriot with a big heart and a talent for baking. When cries of and#8220;Revolution!and#8221; began, Christopher was determined to help General George Washington and his hungry troops. Not with muskets or cannons, but with gingerbread! and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Cheerfully told by Mara Rockliff and brought to life by Vincent Kirschand#8217;s inventive cut-paper illustrations, Gingerbread for Liberty is the story of an unsung hero of the Revolutionary War who changed the course of history one loaf at a time.
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
Judith St. George lives in Connecticut.
David Small grew up in Detroit, studied Art and English at Wayne State University and completed his graduate studies in art at Yale. He went on to teach drawing and printmaking at the college level for fourteen years, during which time his first book Eulalie and The Hopping Head was published. David no longer teaches but has continued illustrating.
David has illustrated twenty-seven picture books, and has also provided the text for six of them. His Imogene’s Antlers has been featured for fifteen years on PBS’ “Reading Rainbow.” Fenwicks Suit presently is in production by Fox 2000 Four of David’s bestselling picture books were written by his wife, Sarah Stewart. Their book The Gardener was the recipient of 17 awards including the Christopher Medal and the 1998 Caldecott Honor Award.
David’s books have been translated into six languages. He also has worked years as a freelance editorial artist, with his drawings appearing regularly in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. His reviews of picture books appear frequently in The New York Times Book Review.
Of his beginnings as an artist David has this to say: “Detroit is not where I would have lived given the choice as a child. Then, I would much rather have lived in Candy Land. But the fact is Detroit—a harsh, industrial—made art and music all the more sweet in my young life, more urgent and more of a necessity. Seen in that light, Detroit was the perfect place for me to grow up.”
David Small and Sarah Stewart make their home in Michigan in an 1833 Greek Revival house on ten acres of land along the banks of the St. Joseph River. Their house is on the National Register of Historic Places, and their property marks the northern boundary of the Great Tallgrass Prairie.