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jaij7's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this one. Great nonfiction book. The illustrations are great and the story of Slinky is unbelievable.
turrean's review against another edition
5.0
Clever illustrations combine photos of real objects with colored pencil sketches. This is a fascinating story, not only because I’ve played with a slinky (who hasn’t?!) but because the author shows it took a team (the inventor who came up with the original notion, and the visionary planner who made the slinky happen and successfully brought the toy to market) to be successful.
gschroeder's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the mixed media illustrations and it was a neat story.
readingthroughtheages's review against another edition
5.0
So many ways to use this book - growth mindset, ideas, makerspace, illustrations. One for all libraries to have!
heisereads's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, both in story of the invention of the Slinky, and in the illustration style with cut-paper, 3-D objects, and photographed scenes. Both will gives kids things to pour over and inspiration for creating on their own. Would like to have known more in the back matter on what happened after the fact - like why was his wife inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame and not the guy who originally invented it? This is a great picture book to add to STEAM collections.
abigailbat's review against another edition
4.0
Did you know that the slinky was invented by accident as engineer Richard James worked on a way to stabilize ship equipment for the Navy?
Slinkies are still bought and played with today and this nonfiction picture book about their invention is sure to be a hit with toy lovers and future inventors. The illustrations are neat - mixed-media 3D creations using items like springs, toothpicks, pipe cleaners, yarn, and actual lit lightbulbs to create the scenes. These mixed media illustrations fit perfectly with the subject matter in which an object was used in a creatively different way to create a super popular toy.
One bit that bugged me a little bit is that, while it's clear that the idea for the Slinky was Richard's, his wife Betty's contributions are maybe downplayed a little bit. The author's note explains that after Richard left the country in 1960, their business almost went bust until Betty took it over and saved the Slinky. Betty James was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame, but this info doesn't appear in the book's text proper, just in the author's note. To be clear, Betty is in the narrative - she's shown naming the Slinky and helping the business run - I just wish that the last bit (maybe the most impressive - Betty ran the company as a woman in the 1960s while raising six children (according to Wikipedia)) was included in the narrative proper.
Slinkies are still bought and played with today and this nonfiction picture book about their invention is sure to be a hit with toy lovers and future inventors. The illustrations are neat - mixed-media 3D creations using items like springs, toothpicks, pipe cleaners, yarn, and actual lit lightbulbs to create the scenes. These mixed media illustrations fit perfectly with the subject matter in which an object was used in a creatively different way to create a super popular toy.
One bit that bugged me a little bit is that, while it's clear that the idea for the Slinky was Richard's, his wife Betty's contributions are maybe downplayed a little bit. The author's note explains that after Richard left the country in 1960, their business almost went bust until Betty took it over and saved the Slinky. Betty James was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame, but this info doesn't appear in the book's text proper, just in the author's note. To be clear, Betty is in the narrative - she's shown naming the Slinky and helping the business run - I just wish that the last bit (maybe the most impressive - Betty ran the company as a woman in the 1960s while raising six children (according to Wikipedia)) was included in the narrative proper.
jshettel's review against another edition
4.0
"What box downstairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound? " The story of the invention of the slinky brought back fond memories for me!! Loved it.