New Books

Greetings!
I have a few new books to share this week. I know, I know, but I just can’t help it. I see these great books and just have to tell someone about them.

The first two are part of a set called Toy Trailblazers. They are from the Checkerboard Library published by Abdo Publishing. I chose just these two from the set of six books.

American Girl Entrepreneur by Paige V. Polinsky is about the maker of the American Girl dolls, Pleasant Rowland. The story of how Ms. Rowland came up with the idea to create dolls from a historical perspective. She met with a lot of opposition to her idea. People said that the historical themes would be too boring. We know that they were wrong and the dolls were and are a huge hit.

Yo-Yo Maker by Paige V. Polinsky is about the maker of the yo-yo, Pedro Flores. Flores didn’t actually invent the yo-yo; it was a popular toy in his home country, the Philippines. But he is the one who brought the yo-yo craze to the United States.
Each of these books tells a little about the history of the toy and something about the creator of the toy. The other books in the set of toy makers include Mr. Potato Head, Pokemon, Rubik’s Cube, and Monopoly.

Another set of books is about fashion. I bought just two of them, too. Levi Strauss, Blue Jean Genius by Elsie Olson is about Levi Strauss and how he created the blue jeans that became a craze and are worn all over the world today.

Mary Quant, Miniskirt Maker by Rebecca Felix is about Quant who gave customers in London shorter skirts when they asked for them. She herself wore the miniskirts while helping her customers. She gave the shortened skirts the name ‘mini’ after the Mini Cooper, her favorite car.

Both of these books are part of the 1st in Fashion set. Other books in the series include Eddie Bauer Down Jacket Developer, Louis Reard Bikini Designer, Chuck Taylor Sneaker Sensation, and Sam Foster Sunglasses Success. This set is also from the Checkerboard Library published by Abdo Publishing.

When I saw the next set of books, I knew that I had to have the one about ketchup and the one about jelly. Henry John Heinz: Ketchup Developer by Heather C. Hudak is a short biography about Heinz and his persistence in creating his company. He had lots of troubles and lost a lot of money, but was able to persist and make a success of his company. I read this book to the first and second graders and we really enjoyed learning about Mr. Heinz.

Smuckers has had commercials on television using their grandchildren or great grandchildren. I was pleased to realize that real people, a real family, started this business. In The Smucker Family: Jelly Pioneers by Heather C. Hudak we learn about the family and how they began the jam and jelly business.

Other books in the set titled “Food Dudes” include S. Truett Cathy: Chick-fil-A Founder, Oscar F. Mayer: Hot Dog Manufacturer, Henri Nestle: Food Company Creator and Sam J Porcello: Oreo Innovator.
Again, these books are from the Checkerboard Library and published by Abdo Publishing.

Well, that will do it for this week. If you have any questions or need titles for a specific section of your library, I might be able to suggest some titles for you. Enjoy the weekend.

Audrey