ALA Booklist (Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2000)

There's no organization to speak of, neither chronological nor alphabetical. However, this very attractive, informative book will find an audience among browsers and report writers alike. Ten women and two girls are given a few pages each. Included are Mary Anderson, who invented the windshield wiper (after she was told it wouldn't work); Ruth Wakefield, who, by throwing chunks of chocolate in her cookie batter, gave Toll House cookies to the world; and young Becky Schroeder, who invented Glo-paper because she wanted to write in the dark. The text is written in a fresh, breezy manner, but it is the artwork that is really outstanding. Melissa Sweet's mixed-media collages almost jump off the pages. For instance, the chocolate-chip cookie recipe is handwritten on a card, which sits on the page of an old cookbook, pasted to a wooden cutting board, set against an old-fashioned tablecloth. Watercolor portraits of the inventors also appear in each chapter, along with historical material or drawings of individual objects. The endpapers list women inventors, beginning at 3000 B.C., when silk was invented by a Chinese empress. The final section tells girls how to patent their inventions, and an informed bibliography and Web site list will help them do just that. (Reviewed March 15, 2000)

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-An outstanding collective biography of women and girls who changed the world with their inventions. Thimmesh surveys unique and creative ideas that were both borne of necessity or were simply a product of ingenuity and hard work. Included are Bette Nesmith Graham, who invented Liquid Paper, known more commonly as "white-out," and Ann Moore, who emulated the way African mothers carried their babies to create the Snugli. While working for NASA, Jeanne Lee Crews invented the "space bumper" that protects spacecraft and astronauts. The last few individuals highlighted utilized their creativity at a fairly young age. Becky Schroeder was 10 when she invented Glo-sheet paper, which enables people to write in the dark. She became the youngest female to receive a U.S. patent. The book also encourages young women to start inventing themselves and offers a list of organizations with postal and Internet addresses to help them get started. Colorful collage artwork shows the women and their creations and adds vibrancy and lightness to the text.-Carol Fazioli, formerly at The Brearley School, New York City Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW called this compilation of personal profiles "an inspired ode to women inventors." Ages 8-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Mar.)

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2000)

A dozen women are profiled in this collection of short, anecdotal biographies demonstrating that necessity, ingenuity, and luck all play a part in successful inventions. Thimmesh concentrates her account on the process of these inventions and addresses this book to youngsters who may have inventive ideas of their own. Sweet's small watercolor portraits personalize each profile; her full-page collages highlight different elements of the inventions. Bib.