Friday, April 18, 2014

The Woman Who Invented the Thread That Stops Bullets.

Wyckoff, Edwin Brit.  The Woman Who Invented the Thread That Stops Bullets.   Enslow  2014  48p  $23.93  ISBN 978-7660-4141-7  elem       series: Genius Inventors and Their Great Ideas  Biography  VG

Stephanie Kwolek, a chemist working for DuPont Industries, invented Kevlar when she was working to develop a lightweight polymer that would be strong enough to replace the steel fibers found in tires.  In her early childhood her father taught her the value of patience and true listening, both of which paid off throughout her life and work.    With photographs on almost every page and simple sentences, the author has created a very interesting biography about a relatively unknown inventor.  It is obvious that many of the photographs are simply fillers, although they still relate to the text, such as the full-page photograph of the woods on page 11. Considering the elementary-age readership, this makes some sense, but it still seems a tad much.  The text is well written and informative.  One interesting component of the book is the “You be the inventor!” section, which walks youngsters through the invention process from idea to patent. The book concludes with a timeline, glossary, and index.

What keeps this from being a book of note, for this reader, is that several of the photographs/images in the book are pixelated or blurry. Just as in editing text, publishers should take the time to ensure that images of all types are of an excellent quality.  There is so much software out there to ensure this, that to have subpar illustrations just shows a lack of concern for quality.      

All of the inventors in this series will be of interest to youngsters, and these books to a good job of presenting their biographies in a very easily read format.  There may be image quality issues, but they should not detract from the quality of the text.     

Summary: Stephanie Kwolek, a chemist working for DuPont Industries, invented Kevlar when working to develop a lightweight polymer that would be strong enough to replace the steel fibers found in tires. In her early childhood her father taught her the value of patience and true listening, both of which paid off throughout her life and work.

Invention, Biography                                  --Lynn Fisher

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