Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge

by Monica Kulling

Illustrated by Bill Slavin

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-522-7

32 pp.

Ages 6-10

August 2016

Sure everyone is talking about the Tesla car but this is the story of the great inventor who inspired that motor car’s name by devising a multitude of inventions, not the least of which was the alternating current useful for effective distribution of power across great distances.

The extraordinary Nikola Tesla was born in Croatia in 1856 and came to America in 1884 with a dream of finding a job with Thomas Edison, the “electrical wizard” who hired young men to help develop new ideas.  Though Niko Tesla showed astonishing prowess with motors and machinery, astounding even Edison, his idea of a motor that ran on alternating current electricity was discouraged by the famous man who was determined to continue to invest in his direct current systems.

It wasn’t until Tesla met the entrepreneur-engineer George Westinghouse (who founded Westinghouse Electric and Westinghouse Appliances) that he was able to put his ideas into practice.  And, though Thomas Edison waged a nasty smear campaign against Tesla’s efforts, the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago proved to the world that alternating current was the more efficient system of providing electricity.  But it was the realization of Tesla’s dream to build a generator at Niagara Falls that sparked one of his greatest achievements, witnessed by the world in 1895.

From Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge 

by Monica Kulling, illus. by Bill Slavin

Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge is a great story of a young man with dreams and skills that even the malicious machinations of the celebrated Thomas Edison could not encumber.  Monica Kulling focuses on Tesla’s perseverance through repeated complications to stick to his aspirations, demonstrating that good ideas will not die.   It’s a positive message and an inspiring story of determination and engineering brilliance.

I’m saddened that Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge is the final book in the Great Idea Series by Monica Kulling from Tundra Books.  Just as Zap! will undoubtedly do, these illustrated biographies have delighted young readers with the accomplishments of great inventors, from George Eastman to Elijah McCoy, covering cameras, paper bags, household management, the Zamboni, to steam engines, each story providing a glimpse into the lives of those who developed ideas that progressed our worlds in so many ways.  It’s especially gratifying that Bill Slavin, who was the original artist for the first book, It’s A Snap! (Tundra, 2009), has illustrated this final book.  His pen-and-ink artwork, coloured in PhotoShop (see images at http://www.billslavin.com/p/picture-book-illustration.html) enhance the story and bring the series full circle, electrifying Nikola Tesla’s story with a brightness and the authenticity so necessary in illustrated biographies. Congratulations to Monica Kulling and Bill Slavin on this culminating tome, a publishing achievement to rival those of the inventions in the Great Ideas Series.

From Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge

by Monica Kulling, illus. by Bill Slavin

**Please check out Monica Kulling's comment below.  Seems one last book, #10, will be forthcoming.  Yippee!

To the Rescue! Garrett Morgan Underground (Great Idea Series)

Written by Monica Kulling

Illustrated by David Parkins

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-520-3

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

January 2016

The son of former slaves, Garrett Morgan, came from humble beginnings, working on a Kentucky farm alongside his family before heading north at 14 to find something more.  His first invention came by simple observation from the clothing factory floor which he cleaned.  Sewing machine belts were often breaking and Garrett Morgan's development of a stronger belt resulted in a promotion to sewing-machine repairman.  Garrett Morgan relayed this success into his own sewing-machine shop and tailoring shop, and was on his way.

Garrett Morgan could well have been considered a success at this point, owning his own house, and running his own businesses.  His successes were all the more because he was an African American man in a time of great prejudice and ignorance.  But he continued to develop new products, serendipitously developing a cream for hair straightening which led to his first patent and the beginnings of the G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Company.

But the key product for which Garrett Morgan is showcased in To the Rescue! came from the man's shock at the death toll from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City in 1911.  Determined to help the firefighters breathe while inside burning buildings, Garrett Morgan developed a safety hood, the precursor to the gas mask, that utilized long hoses to draw breathable air from ground level and allow the wearer to exhale safely, with a sponge to filter out smoke.  He called it Morgan's Safety Hood and Smoke Protector.  Though it worked, it was often shunned because the inventor was black.

It wasn't until a gas explosion trapped more than thirty men underground in Cleveland that Garrett Morgan's safety hood was utilized and applauded as valuable. Not surprising the safety hood was developed further for use as a gas mask during World War I.

With Black History Month upon us and To the Rescue! Garrett Morgan Underground just published last month, it seems appropriate that I share the book with readers now.  Everyone knows the big inventors like Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison but Monica Kulling continues to shine some publishing light on the accomplishments of lesser known but just as notable inventors.  The safety hood was a great idea and Garrett Morgan is deserving of recognition for this achievement.  It’s heartbreaking that the colour of his skin may have prevented earlier implementation of his invention and perhaps could have saved lives sooner.  Fortunately, some were able to see beyond that and accept the significance of the safety hood for everyone.

Surprising, Tundra’s Great Idea Series uses a variety of illustrators, though the text is wholly Monica Kulling, and I like the selection of David Parkins to illustrate To the Rescue! Garrett Morgan Underground.  David Parkins, who also illustrated In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up and Spic-and-Span! Lillian Gilbreth's Wonder Kitchen by Monica Kulling, is reknowned as a cartoonist, including an editorial cartoonist for The Globe & Mail, and there’s a retro cartoon feel to the art that works well for To the Rescue! The illustrations of pen and ink with watercolours are embedded in realism, necessary for non-fiction, but still gentle and detailed, conveying much about the time and the people, critical for a biography.

I understand that there will only be ten books in the Great Idea Series and this one is the eighth.  So, if you haven’t already, get with it and start your collection of illustrated biographies with To The Rescue! Garrett Morgan Underground to recognize the inventiveness of one African American while talking up safety and necessity as the mother of invention.

Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni’s Ice Machine (Great Ideas Series)

Written by Monica Kulling

Illustrated by Renné Benoit

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-795-5

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

January 2016

It’s always a great day when another of Monica Kulling’s Great Ideas Series books comes out.  These illustrated biographies, enhanced with artwork by an assortment of talented Canadian illustrators, highlight key individuals whose innovations we have come to rely upon but about whose stories we often know so little.  There’s been George Eastman’s photography, Elijah McCoy’s invention for oiling train engines, Elisha Otis’ elevator, Margaret Knight’s paper bags, Lillian Gilbreth’s efficient kitchen, Marconi’s wireless and now an invention dearly loved by hockey fans the world over, the Zamboni invented by Frank Zamboni.

Opening with a poem called Bone Blades that emphasizes “a way to fly around, when ice is on the ground”, Monica Kulling takes young readers to the early 1940s when Frank Zamboni and his brother and cousin opened their Iceland Skating Rink.  Resurfacing the ice, while skaters waited, was a time-consuming endeavour of a tractor levelling out the pits and grooves, a crew shovelling away the shavings, washing the surface and then spraying with fresh water, and all before a gleaming finish was added by hot water.

Having learned to tinker with trucks and tractors on their Idaho farm and working at his brother’s auto repair shop in California, as well as studying at an electrical school in Chicago, Frank was a busy man, working with his brother Lawrence doing electrical work, drilling wells, installing pumps and then making ice for home ice-boxes.  It wasn’t a big jump to making ice rinks with the smoothest surfaces ever.

But it wasn’t until after the war that Frank was able to buy military parts that became the foundation for his ice-resurfacing machine and a version of his famous Zamboni machine was created.

Oh, how I wish that the Zamboni had been a Canadian invention.  It seems so quintessentially Canadian.  But Monica Kulling still makes the reader applaud for the innovation and brilliance of Frank Zamboni to find a ground-breaking solution to a common problem.  By sweeping in details about his early years and training, as well as family and engineering development, in addition to some Zippity Zamboni! fun facts appended to the story, Monica Kulling again demonstrates how extraordinary developments can arise from very ordinary circumstances.

Having Renné Benoit, whose artwork has graced award-winning picture books such as Lily and the Paper Man (2007), Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion (2009), and The Secret of the Village Fool (2012) as well as the recent A Year of Borrowed Men (2015), do the illustrations for Clean Sweep! seems intuitive, as she creates memorable work that feels like old photographs from a bygone era.  Her colours and lines are soft and sepia-like, both light and substantial, depicting people and places of a different time so naturally.

Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni’s Ice Machine is a fresh take on a historic innovation told simply but with sparkle by Monica Kulling and perfected by Renné Benoit’s art.

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I encourage teachers to consider using this wonderful series for teaching biographies to young children.  Clean Sweep! and others in the series demonstrate an innovative way to share someone’s life story without the boring parts that are so often embedded in the teaching of biographical literature.

Here is a complete list of Great Ideas Series books, including upcoming releases:

1. It’s a Snap! George Eastman’s First Photograph (Tundra, 2009)
2. All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine (Tundra, 2010)
3. In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up (Tundra, 2011)
4. Going Up! Elisha Otis’s Trip to the Top (Tundra, 2012)
5. Making Contact! Marconi Goes Wireless (Tundra, 2013)
6. Spic-and-Span! Lillian Gilbreth’s Wonder Kitchen (Tundra, 2014)
7. Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni’s Ice Machine (Tundra, Jan/2016)
8. To the Rescue! Garrett Morgan’s Underground (Tundra, Jan/2016)
9. Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes Charge (Tundra, Aug/2016)

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.

Making Contact! Marconi Goes Wireless

by Monica Kulling

Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-378-0

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

September, 2013

Biographies can be so dry.  Endless facts, occasional anecdotes, references and, if the person is long dead, few graphics.  Ah, but not if it's one of Tundra's Great Idea Series written by Monica Kulling. The author who has given us It's a Snap! George Eastman's First Photograph, All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine, In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up and Going Up! Elisha Otis's Trip to the Top is well versed in transforming biographies into readable narratives.

From his birth in Bologna in 1874, Guglielmo Marconi, the baby with the big ears, was destined to "hear the still, small voices in the air" and become known as the father of wireless communication.  Those are the type of details Monica Kulling focuses on, not the details of Marconi's would-be curriculum vitae, typical of many biographies.  The reader learns of Marconi's experiences with Morse code and the telegraph machine; his brain spark of using radio waves to send wireless messages; his inventing and experimentation; a personal demonstration for Queen Victoria; and his ultimate achievement with wireless.  And Richard Rudnicki's illustrations take the readers to Marconi's time and places, providing the appropriate atmosphere for his story.

By resisting the need for excessive text, the affliction of many biographies for young people, and enhancing that limited text with illustrations, Tundra's Great Ideas Series will continue to garner awards and recognition.  With Monica Kulling at the writing helm and astutely concentrating on the anecdotes of pivotal experiences, the stories will continue to be fascinating to young readers.

In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up

by Monica Kulling

Illustrated by David Parkins

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-239-4

32 pp.

Ages 5-9

2011

Margaret (Mattie) Knight was one of those amazing women who never let her gender stand in her way, though others tried.  As a young girl in mid-1800's New Hampshire, Mattie enjoyed building purposeful items from wood, using the tools inherited from her father who'd died when she was 3.  She built kites and sleds, but when she began to work in a cotton mill (still as a young girl), she put her inventing skills to greater use.  While captivated by the looms and other large machinery involved in spinning and weaving, Mattie recognized inherent dangers therein and designed a device that prevented moving shuttles from blasting off when threads broke.

Mattie was only 12 when she invented this stop-motion device, preventing her from registering a patent for it, but she consoled herself with the injuries her device prevented.  Never marrying, Mattie continued to dream up machines when she wasn't working.  In 1868, when she worked at a paper-bag factory, Mattie was inspired to design a machine that would cut, fold and paste a paper bag with a flat bottom.  It was only because of her perseverance, toiling for years on her machine and then taking a patent thief to court, that Mattie was able to establish herself as the ingenious woman inventor she was.

Biographies can be dry reading for children, as can most non-fiction, if the authors and publishers forget to focus on those features of text that make the reading compelling.  Tundra's Great Ideas Series, with three volumes all penned by Monica Kulling, tell biographies as stories, emphasizing the milestones of visionaries' ideas, rather than the minutiae of their timelines.  Enhanced with detailed and appealing illustrations by David Parkins, The Beano contributor and émigré from the United Kingdom, In the Bag! seems less non-fiction and more picture book, favourably widening its readership.

With In the Bag!, Monica Kulling demonstrates a knack she has for crafting reader-friendly biographies for children.  Her earlier books in the Great Ideas Series of illustrated biographies, It's a Snap! George Eastman's First Photograph (Tundra, 2009) and All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine (Tundra, 2010), have been nominated for the OLA's Silver Birch Express Award (2011 and 2012, respectively), with  In the Bag! currently nominated for a Shining Willow Award.  I suspect that the release of Going Up! Elisha Otis' Trip To The Top (Tundra, fall 2012) will similarly find an eager audience of young readers who appreciate the colourful tales of innovation, all the more intriguing for their factual nature.