Bartons clean, lively prose and Tates boldly composed, often comical illustrations-including a dramatic gatefold capturing the Super Soakers mighty trajectory-make Lonnie Johnsons story of passion and persistence whoosh to life. Charlesbridge: 2016.Ĭheck out the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge at Kid Lit Frenzy. Whoosh Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions BUY THIS BOOK Whoosh Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions Chris Barton, illus. He approached toy company after toy company with his invention until finally, he struck gold. Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate. Just keep the pages away from those super-soakers! The back matter also talks about Barton’s experience interviewing Johnson and the widow of one of his co-workers.ĭon Tate’s cartoon-style illustrations are appealing. I loved the back matter’s call to action: “…if you want to better understand how Lonnie Johnson himself works, then you’ll put this book down, step away from the computer screen, and get permission to take something apart.” The back matter sends the curious reader to the internet to unravel that mystery.

I was surprised that the book didn’t talk at all about the scientific principles behind the super soaker. And it was invented entirely by accident.

It can be tricky to condense an entire life to 32 pages, but Barton’s retelling stays focused on his theme–what Johnson had to do to invent–and is lively throughout. Author : Chris Barton Pages : 32 pages Publisher : Charlesbridge Language : eng ISBN-10 : 1580892973 ISBN-13 : 9781580892971 DESCRIPTION A cool idea with a big splash. In addition to telling the story of how Johnson came up with the super soaker, the book tells about his contributions to the US space program and NASA’s Galileo probe. We watch Lonnie Johnson from his childhood on up facing the problems of creating something new: testing, trouble-shooting, revising, and just plain keeping track of loads of gea r. In Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-soaking Stream of Inventions, Chris Barton paints a portrait of the temperament of an inventor.

Whoosh! by Chris Barton