Bounce!: A Scientific History of Rubber
Bounce!: A Scientific History of Rubber
Select a format:
Publisher's Hardcover ©2024--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
Charlesbridge Publishing
Annotation: Ever wondered what makes rubber bounce? Or why it's stretchy? And WHY is rubber so . . . rubbery?! Learn the facinating science and history behind this ubiquitous material!
Genre: [Engineering]
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #393809
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Common Core/STEAM: STEAM STEAM
Copyright Date: 2024
Edition Date: 2024 Release Date: 10/22/24
Illustrator: Ewen, Eileen Ryan,
Pages: 1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN: 1-623-54379-7
ISBN 13: 978-1-623-54379-2
Dewey: 678
LCCN: 2023029730
Dimensions: 25 cm
Language: English
Reviews:
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

How a natural goo with miraculous properties flexed its way into sports, technology, and our daily livesComing from cultures where the best balls available were stuffed with feathers or dried peas, 16th-century Europeans were likely astonished at seeing the bouncy latex ones in use in the American lands they were plundering. A few centuries later, the rubbery stuff was making up everything from boots to balloons, rubber bands to rubber duckies-especially after Charles Goodyear in the U.S. and Thomas Hancock in England simultaneously figured out how to stabilize, or "vulcanize," it, and later scientists concocted synthetic versions. Albee expands on this story, giving full credit to the Indigenous peoples who first discovered latex and used it, and also forthrightly acknowledging that expanding demand for the natural product has subsequently led to widespread human rights violations and environmental problems. In seamlessly interwoven scientific digressions, she digs into the chemistry of polymers and of vulcanization, explains how rubber can float (or not), and notes why a rubber tire (which is "basically a huge, tire-shaped molecule") grips the road so well. Ewen reflects the narrative's effervescence with views of diverse groups of modern children, prim European figures in 19th-century dress, and Indigenous athletes, all exercising vigorously in pools, upon bicycles, or on various playing fields.Albee plainly has a ball, and readers will, too. (author's note, timeline, bibliography, quotation sources)(Informational picture book. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews

How a natural goo with miraculous properties flexed its way into sports, technology, and our daily livesComing from cultures where the best balls available were stuffed with feathers or dried peas, 16th-century Europeans were likely astonished at seeing the bouncy latex ones in use in the American lands they were plundering. A few centuries later, the rubbery stuff was making up everything from boots to balloons, rubber bands to rubber duckies-especially after Charles Goodyear in the U.S. and Thomas Hancock in England simultaneously figured out how to stabilize, or "vulcanize," it, and later scientists concocted synthetic versions. Albee expands on this story, giving full credit to the Indigenous peoples who first discovered latex and used it, and also forthrightly acknowledging that expanding demand for the natural product has subsequently led to widespread human rights violations and environmental problems. In seamlessly interwoven scientific digressions, she digs into the chemistry of polymers and of vulcanization, explains how rubber can float (or not), and notes why a rubber tire (which is "basically a huge, tire-shaped molecule") grips the road so well. Ewen reflects the narrative's effervescence with views of diverse groups of modern children, prim European figures in 19th-century dress, and Indigenous athletes, all exercising vigorously in pools, upon bicycles, or on various playing fields.Albee plainly has a ball, and readers will, too. (author's note, timeline, bibliography, quotation sources)(Informational picture book. 7-10)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Kirkus Reviews
Bibliography Index/Note: Includes bibliographical references.
Reading Level: 3.0
Interest Level: 1-4
Lexile: 780L

Ever wondered what makes rubber bounce? Or why it's stretchy? And WHY is rubber so . . . rubbery?! Learn the facinating science and history behind this ubiquitous material!

With sidebars, graphics, fun facts, and more, the history of rubber reveals plenty of fascinating secrets and surprises. Elementary school readers will discover that early balls didn't bounce; that people in the rainforest made waterproof gear from rubber thousands of years before Europeans got into the act; and that sneakers, bicycles, and cars created demand for more and more rubber!

Back matter includes a time line and a bit about the complicated implications of harvesting rubber.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.