Make No MISTAKE, New Biography Series Is Fun!

COVID 19 Anchor in time:
America is currently dealing with the consequences of serious mistakes (in attitudes and actions). Diminishing treatment resources and facilities to deal with a rise in new COVID19 cases are widely reported. Some (not many) who claimed that guidelines to wash hands and maintain physical distancing in public were an assault on individual rights are grudgingly reconsidering that stance. This is a pandemic virus that we do not fully understand and one we cannot effectively prevent or treat. 
Some mistakes have enormous consequences. 
Let's hope that mistaken hubris among a large swath of our population is something we can learn from before the damage worsens.

Maverick Arts Publishing,
September  2020

Learning new things always involves mistakes. Curiosity, experiments, problem solving, and yes, a pandemic involve trial and error. 
I'm often contacted about reviewing picture books, and I consider each request carefully. My time and space for reviews is very limited, so relatively few make it to this page, but I never regret the reading.
When an advanced look at these new releases from MAVERICK ARTS PUBLISHING was offered, it was a new-to-me publisher. The fact that they have partnered with Lerner Books for distribution in the USA was encouraging, and reading their titles was  no mistake. My recent post featured one title in their new biography series: TRAILBLAZER: Lily Parr, the Unstoppable Star of Women's Soccer.  

I'm excited to share two other nonfiction titles among their upcoming books.  A SUPER STICKY MISTAKE The Story of How Harry Coover Accidentally Invented Super Glue, was written by Alison Donald and illustrated by Rea Zhai. Young Harry is a curious and creative "wannabe" home chemist, a fearless risk-taker, and a careful observer. A closing quote and back matter provides Harry's reflection that the discovery of SUPERGLUE was the result of one lucky accident and ten years of hard work. He's a fine example (as is Lily Parr) of pursuing dream jobs and not letting anything stand in the way of a dream.

Word play is a feature throughout this and other titles, with Harry's exuberant "Yabba Dubba _______" and his persistence ("stick-to-it" attitude) marking him for success in an educated trial-and-error career in chemistry. It's hard to imagine a child who is not familiar with SUPERGLUE, but the telling here includes details about its uses that will suprise and entertain. This lively telling of its inventor and origin story will stick with readers.

Maverick Arts Publishing, 
September  2020

Another fun biography in this series is MISTER T. V, The Story of John Logie Baird, written by Julie Fulton and illustrated by Patrick Coorigan. As the author clarifies, Baird was never called Mister TV, since at least fifty other inventors around the world were simultaneously working on various  inventions to transmit moving images. He managed to be the first to create and demonstrate a mechanical device that could send images of moving people through the first "televisor". He also developed the first mechanical color and 3-D televisions. 

This biography retains focus on the subject's childhood for many spreads, indicating several of his remarkable early inventions and their unpredictable consequences, including successes, laughter, and even painful surprises. 

Baird, too, is an icon of persistence, creativity, and determination to bring dreams to reality. MISTER T.V. includes the pattern of this series with spot facts, informative endpapers, and expands to DUAL timelines in the back that mirror Baird's history with world history. 

The design of these books is appealing and contribute to their success. Short posts of text are arranged in bite-sized passages or within spot detail bubbles and illustrations, with cartoon-styled displays of dramatic and impressive events, helpful timelines, and summary endpapers. Kids will connect with the subjects who are involved with familiar products and interests. The childhood-to-career-end portrayals move swiftly but dramatically through decades of events and accomplishments. If all three biographies are read by an individual or group, it would  be a fun challenge to interweave their timelines and geographic locations. 

My only quibble with the  book design itself relates to font choice, which is well suited to the lively layouts but might pose a perception problem for some with visual/dyslexic letter identification problems in what would otherwise be ideal texts for young/developing readers. I based these reviews on PDF files so cannot comment on the production quality, but since Lerner Books are involved they should be attractive, kid-friendly, and durable.

I also read and enjoyed several titles that are lively fictional stories among the upcoming MAVERICK ARTS/Lerner Books releases. This is a welcome array of readable, appealing picture books for home and classroom use.

#BLACK LIVES MATTER note: Once you have readers excited about investors and innovators, encourage them to seek out inspirations beyond the default White names:
Historian Carter Woodson: CARTER READS THE NEWSPAPER
Astronaut Ron McNair  RON'S  BIG MISSION
Aviator Bessie Coleman TALKIN' ABOUT BESSIE
Rodeo Champ George Fletcher LET 'ER BUCK
Environmental activist Jadav Paying THE BOY WHO GREW A FOREST
Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas TINY STITCHES
And that's just a start!