THE BOO-BOOS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
A True Story About An Accidental Invention (Really!)
By: Barry Wittenstein
Illustrated by: Chris Hsu
Published: February 13, 2018
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Non-Fiction
Who knew the story of how band-aids were invented would be so interesting! Wittenstein has a way of telling a story from history but injecting enough humor to keep kids interested in finding out what happened next. Earle Dickson came up with the idea for a band-aid because his wife was often cutting herself while making his dinner. He felt bad and worried about her wounds getting infected. One night, he had a bright idea and went to his boss, James Johnson, to tell him his idea. But, the band-aids didn’t immediately become a best-selling item and there were a few bumps along the way.
I think this is a great story for kids to learn about because even though Earle Dickson had a great idea and worked for the right company to make the idea happen, he still had rejection and frustration. After getting the idea to actually work, then he had to figure out a way for customers to buy into it. It took trial and error and perseverance to keep working on selling his item. By deciding to give band-aids away to just the right group of people, his idea finally took off.
The end of the book includes an author’s note with a bit more detailed history on Earle Dickson and a timeline of events in Earle’s life. There is also a timeline of other medical-related inventions from the 1920’s and 1930’s and a list of websites that kids can go to to find more information and watch videos about band-aids. Wittenstein took a little liberty with the story of Earle Dickson and his invention, but the important piece for kids to learn is to not give up and keep finding a solution to the problem all while having a bit of humor.
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| Barry Wittenstein – source |
You can also listen to Barry talk about the book on the Charlesbridge podcast, HERE.
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Wasn't this book fun? I loved the way the story was told with humor.
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