A fun and fact-filled look at footwear that will find its audience.
The history of what nearly everyone wears on their feet.
This brisk account moves from a description of ancient woven bark sandals discovered in Oregon in 1938 to the use of latex by Mayan and Olmec peoples to the incorporation of rubber into the soles of shoes for croquet players to footwear endorsements by athletes like Michael Jordan. Bright colors feature throughout the exuberant cartoon drawings along with plenty of sidebars and photos spotlighting diverse people, both famous and everyday. Drimmer covers the history of familiar brands and logos—the rivalry between the Dassler brothers, who founded Adidas and Puma; the development of Blue Ribbon Sports into Nike; the reason that Converse shoes carry the name Chuck Taylor. She avoids discussing economic, human-capital concerns about the manufacture of what are often hugely expensive and collectible shoes. An intriguing chapter on future developments for sneakers mentions the sound-absorbent sneakers that T’Challa wears in Black Panther and a real-life attempt at making a similarly quiet pair. The narrative is a bit thin (and neither source notes nor suggestions for further exploration are offered), but overall, it’s a clear, close-up look at an invention (versatile, comfortable shoes) that captures affection and loyalty, plus an exhortation to young innovators to think about their own spin on the product. It’s also an interesting examination of the ways that professional athletics and personal exercise have evolved over the last century.
A fun and fact-filled look at footwear that will find its audience. (timeline, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781454944966
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
A fascinating account of a truly bizarre disaster.
Imagine a 40-foot wall of molasses turning a harborside neighborhood upside down.
It was a hopeful time in Boston. The worst of the Spanish influenza was over, World War I had just ended and Babe Ruth had helped the Red Sox win the World Series the previous fall. But on January 15, 1919, in Boston’s North End, on a sunny, warm day, the molasses tank in the neighborhood blew. More than 2,300,000 gallons of molasses, weighing 13,000 tons, flowed down the street, uplifting houses, twisting railroad tracks and killing 21 people. Fallen elevated train tracks, dead horses, collapsed buildings and crushed cars made the areas look as though a tornado had come through. The smell of molasses in the neighborhood didn’t fade until 1995, though the memory of the event has. Using firsthand testimony from the 40-volume transcript from Dorr v. U.S. Industrial Alcohol, the hearings that followed the event, Kops has done a fine job of resurrecting the story and recreating the day through third-person stories of the actual players. Had she retained some of the first-person accounts, she may have lent her narrative greater immediacy, but it is nevertheless an intriguing read. A useful map, abundant archival photographs and sidebars offering historical context complement the lively prose.
A fascinating account of a truly bizarre disaster. (index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-58089-348-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
Hole-y astronomy! (timeline, glossary, author’s note, bibliography, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Oh, my stars! As the cover proclaims, a black hole may not be an actual hole, but readers will be glad they fell into this book.
The volume guides readers on a (literally) out-of-this-world tour, dealing with topics and concepts that, in the hands of a less-gifted writer, might have remained obscure and unclear. DeCristofano handles the material with wit, style and singularly admirable clarity, frequently employing easy-to-understand and, yes, down-to-earth ideas and scenarios to help make complex principles comprehensible to readers of all ages. Carroll’s illustrations, diagrams and charts, along with superb telescopic photographs (many courtesy of NASA) are splendid and filled with the drama and excitement of the limitless vastness of space. The handsome design and visuals greatly enhance the text and add much to readers’ grasp of the subject. Stargazers will be entranced, and even those not especially attuned to matters celestial will come away feeling smarter, awestruck and with a sense of finally understanding this fascinating, other-worldly phenomenon. An excellent resource.
Hole-y astronomy! (timeline, glossary, author’s note, bibliography, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-57091-783-7
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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