Kate Hannigan

I had come in with the assumption that the impetus to create a "dishwashing machine" was to save time and labor, but the initial reason given was that many cups and plates were chipped and cracked during hand-washing. Beyond this, the focus is on Josephine's lifelong determination and commitment to her patented invention.

Back matter includes an author's note, a copy of the original patent, Notable Women Inventors (some with photos, e.g. Grace Hopper, Hedy Lamar, Ellen Ochoa, and Madam Walker), a timeline of fascinating inventions (Braille, the telephone, the revolving door, the traffic light, Lego, ENIAC), sources.… (mere)

I’m fairly new to the graphic novel world, but so far, I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen. Case in point: This book. Before I came across this book, I never really stopped to consider what it may have been like for Americans “holding down the fort”, so to speak, during World War II. Oh, yes, I’d thought about aspects of it, of course—but I never had a clear picture of how families coped with fathers and sons gone, or how people were forced to change their jobs because of shortages in the workplace. I found this book a fast, gripping read, and I greatly enjoyed the illustrations. This is a good overview of America’s involvement in the war, and I came away feeling like I learned a lot from it. I’m looking forward to sharing this with my siblings—I think they’d find it interesting and educational.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.… (mere)