Another chance to offer children an amusing and sneakily urbane approach to history comes in Meghan McCarthy's Earmuffs for Everyone! …Earmuffs are, of course, by their very nature goofy, and McCarthy plays the story as well as the illustrations for laughs…But as easy as they go down, the many lessons in this book are serious: the importance of patents and "good business skills," the contingent nature of history, and the somewhat radical notion that sometimes it's not necessary to be original, only to make something better.
The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo
★ 11/03/2014
...McCarthy leads off this picture-book biography with an illustrated discussion of ear muffs developed before or soon after Greenwood’s birth. Still, the man’s accomplishments were many: improving on earmuff design by adding a steel band, receiving a patent at age 19, and running a successful earmuff manufacturing business. After tracing how Greenwood became known as the inventor of earmuffs, McCarthy describes how his annual “day” became official. In an appended note on research, she mentions that although several sources (Wikipedia, NPR, The Washington Post) incorrectly credited Greenwood with inventing earmuffs, her historical research showed that “the facts got muddled” through the years. Always entertaining, this picture book features a clearly written text and appealing acrylic paintings that vary from spot illustrations of familiar patented inventions (Coke bottles, Lego blocks, a space capsule) to double-page scenes representing the inventor’s life. This unusual book also offers insight into the process of invention and how the muddling of fact, memory, and legend can result in popular history.
Chester Greenwood Day is celebrated annually in Maine to honor a man credited with inventing earmuffs. But did he? The creator of books such as Pop: The Invention of Bubble Gum (2010) and Seabiscuit the Wonder Horse (2008), McCarthy leads off this picture-book biography with an illustrated discussion of ear muffs developed before or soon after Greenwood’s birth. Still, the man’s accomplishments were many: improving on earmuff design by adding a steel band, receiving a patent at age 19, and running a successful earmuff manufacturing business. After tracing how Greenwood became known as the inventor of earmuffs, McCarthy describes how his annual “day” became official. In an appended note on research, she mentions that although several sources (Wikipedia, NPR, The Washington Post) incorrectly credited Greenwood with inventing earmuffs, her historical research showed that “the facts got muddled” through the years. Always entertaining, this picture book features a clearly written text and appealing acrylic paintings that vary from spot illustrations of familiar patented inventions (Coke bottles, Lego blocks, a space capsule) to double-page scenes representing the inventor’s life. This unusual book also offers insight into the process of invention and how the muddling of fact, memory, and legend can result in popular history.
January 1, 2015 - *STARRED REVIEW Booklist
Meghan McCarthy (Daredevil ) explains patents while also making a distinction between "invention" and "improvement" in this true story of teenage entrepreneur Chester Greenwood who made improvements to earmuffs.Shelf Awareness Discover: The story of inventive teen Chester Greenwood, famous for earmuffs, and an exploration of the patenting process.
January 16, 2015 - Shelf Awareness for Readers
Having forayed into inventor biography in her delightful Pop!: The Invention of Bubble Gum (BCCB 6/10), McCarthy turns here not only to invention but its historiography as she explores the development of earmuffs and of the narrative of their invention in her usual droll, compact form. The book begins by chronicling some early ear-protecting duds and patents, then relays the story of Chester Greenwood, who “had gigantic ears” and who is widely thought to be the creator of earmuffs, despite evidence that versions of such ear warmers existed well before he was even born. The text then goes back to question the discrepancies between the two narratives (“What do you think really happened?”), dig deeper into patents, address the inventors (like Edison as well as Greenwood) whose contribution was to improve an existing idea rather than be the first to come up with it, and relate the revival and enhancement of Greenwood’s legend years after he died. The result takes McCarthy’s already zippy and effective exploration into thought-provoking new territory for young readers, cleverly unpicking the story behind the story and making the point that innovation rarely occurs in isolation. McCarthy’s familiar pop-eyed human (and animal) figures get added comedy from the rhyming roundness of their earmuffs, and the running gallery of patents and devices that threads through the pages evinces a contagious delight in the Age of Invention. Aside from being an enjoyable outing in its own right, this would be a great opening to kickstart kids’ critical thinking by encouraging them to turn the same kind of interrogation onto other histories and biographies. An extensive note about McCarthy’s process in creating the book, an explanation of patents, and a bibliography are appended.
February 2015 - *STARRED REVIEW Bulletin
★ 2014-10-01
