Updated: Dec 26, 2024
Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta
Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books for Young Readers)
(pub. 4.16.2024)
48 pages
Ages 7 - 10
Author: Sue Ganz-Schmitt
Illustrator: Iacopo Bruno
Character: Mary Myers
Overview:
" In the 1850s, proper young ladies were supposed to keep their feet on the ground (literally and metaphorically), but Mary dreamed of flying. Luckily, she married Carl Myers, a balloon enthusiast whose dreams were just as lofty as hers. Together, they designed and constructed balloons of all shapes and sizes, a difficult and dangerous job that required knowledge of chemistry, engineering, and meteorology.
But how could they know which balloon designs worked best? They needed someone adventurous who could do balloon tricks for crowds while recording flight data. Mary knew just the person . . . herself! She gave herself the stage name Carlotta and anxiously awaited her first flight. Would she make it into the air? Could she collect the data they needed? Mary battled thick clouds and bone-chilling cold, but she went higher and farther than she hoped, and returned ready for her next flight."
Tantalizing taste:
"At first, she was buoyant! But as the weekend crept closer, Carlotta's mood plummeted. She'd promised to pilot her balloon one mile up. And to stay aloft for five miles or thirty minutes. With zero flight experience, a lot could go wrong.
Carlotta dissolved her dark clouds by imagining herself dancing with the currents over an enchanted view of Earth...
'The day came,' she noted, 'a misty, moisty, miserable, rainy 'Fourth,' dampening all my expectations of a delightful tour.'"
And something more: The section, "Carlotta Retires" at the back of the book explains: "By forty-one, Carlotta was weary of the ups and downs of faraway fairgrounds and exhibitions. She was ready to drop anchor and retire. Sort of ... The Myers bought a farm in Frankfort, New York. Instead of growing food, they grew balloons... Carlotta and Carl's business swelled until most of the balloons sold in the US came rom the Balloon Farm."
The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books for Young Readers)
(pub. 11.12.2024)
32 pages
Ages 7 -10
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Edwin Fotheringham
Character: Vollis Simpson
Overview for Review of The Fabulous Fannie Farmer:
" Vollis Simpson was a man with a curious mind—always eager to know how things worked and how to fix them. Growing up on a farm in North Carolina, he loved to tinker with machines. And when he served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, Vollis kept right on tinkering. His ingenuity allowed him to build things no one would have thought to create from scraps—a washing machine out of airplane parts and a motorcycle out of a bike.
After the war, his passion for metal creations picked up speed—turning into a whirlwind of windmills as far as the eye could see. Luckily, Vollis’s fanciful and colorful windmills have been preserved at a park in Wilson, NC, where visitors can behold his magnificent and towering creations forever whizzing in the air.."
Tantalizing taste:
"Vollis made birds, dogs, horses,
airplanes, cyclists, lumberjacks,
and a guitar player inspired by his son.
With fan blades catching the wind,
bike wheels revolving,
mirrors and reflectors beaming,
and chimes tinkling,
Vollis's noisemaking, mechanical marvels
put little Lucama on the map.
CLINK-PLINK-WHOOSH-SCREEE!"`
And something more: The author, Carole Boston Weatherford, shared in the Author's Note: "When Vollis Simpson began building whirly gigs at age 65, the locals thought he was wacky but his windmill farm in North Carolina became a roadside attraction, amusing and amazing travelers and school children alike.… Simpson created four whirly gigs for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta… the whirly gigs have been named North Carolina's official folk art."
Updated: Dec 11, 2024
A Biography of Dale Chihuly
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Little Bigfoot
(pub.10.15.2024)
48 pages
Ages 5 - 9
Author: Sharon Mentyka
Illustrator: Shelley Couvillion
Character: Dale Chihuly
Overview:
" Travel along with Dale Chihuly on his life’s journey full of curiosity, discovery, teamwork, and perseverance as he overcomes challenges to become a glass artist of international acclaim.
Dale Chihuly’s early life presented many challenges, such as tragic losses in his family at a young age and an accident that left him blind in one eye, yet his resilience, hard work, and optimism taught him life-long skills that became inseparable from his body of work—incomparable glass creations."
Tantalizing taste:
"In gardens, galleries, and museums, visitors discovered Cylinders, Baskets, and Seaforms that seemed as if they'd been plucked out of nature; hothouses filled with blooming glass flowers just like in Dale's mother's garden; and canoes filled with glass Floats that recalled the marbles he played with as a boy.
Dale's pieces got bigger, bigger, and BIGGER still, until he was making some of the most enormous glass sculptures imaginable!"
And something more: At the back of the book, A Transformative Life explains that "Dale's lifelong love of the Pacific Northwest has been instrumental in nurturing the region's growth as a major glassblowing center - one that rivals Murano, Italy, where Dale first saw glassblowing teams at work. Today, more than one thousand glass artists live and work in the region, and the magnificent Chihuly Bridge of Glass welcomes visitors to his hometown of Tacoma."
