Spic-and-Span!: Lillian Gilbreth's Wonder Kitchen

by Monica Kulling

Illustrated by David Parkins

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-380-3

32 pp.

Ages 7-10

August, 2014

I join young readers regularly in the pleasure of reading the Great Idea Series, illustrated biographies of little-known but vastly-important innovators from history.  Monica Kulling's newest edition in the series focuses on American Lillian Gilbreth who was at the leading edge of workplace and household efficiency. 

Though she came from a wealthy California family, Lillian looked beyond an easy life, choosing first to attend university and then working as an industrial engineer and psychologist with her husband (whom she married in 1904).  Their company, Gilbreth Inc., used motion picture technology to assess the efficiency of workers at different tasks with the aim of increasing productivity and reducing worker fatigue.  With eleven children at home, the "Gilbreth System" helped keep the household running well and the children's tasks and progress charted.

But the unexpected death of her husband and partner in 1924 thrust new challenges upon Lillian, not the least of which was caring for her children.  Her eleven children.  But, because she was a woman, her vast experience meant little to those hiring industrial engineers, until Macy's department store hired her to improve their cash-room operations.   And the same principles that she applied there to save space and steps were implemented successfully into kitchen design. (We have Lillian Gilbreth to thank for the circular design of counters, appliances and sinks in most of our kitchens today.) By always examining how work could become more efficient, Lillian Gilbreth continued to innovate, even designing the first electric mixer.

Monica Kulling has again shared a fascinating individual, here Lillian Gilbreth, whose contribution to our world has been far-reaching and yet largely unrecognized.  And the wealth of that contribution is even more remarkable as it flourished at the turn of the twentieth century when women had fewer opportunities to extend themselves beyond work in homes and factories.  The busyness of the technologically advancing times and Lillian Gilbreth's large household are effectively depicted in David Parkins' illustrations, which are historically detailed, from the clothing, shoes and hairstyles to the kitchen appliances and flooring, and to the architecture at the time.  With Monica Kulling's illuminating text and David Parkins' comprehensive drawings, Spic-and-Span is a wonder in itself!  Lillian Gilbreth would be pleased with their collaborative efficacy in telling her story.