249. In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up by Monica Kulling

In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up by Monica Kulling. Illustrated by David Parkins (US) - (CANADA)
Great Idea Series, #3

Pages: 32
Ages: 7+
Finished: Nov. 14, 2011
First Published: Oct. 11,2011
Publisher: Tundra Books
Genre: children, picture book, science, biography, inventor, women's studies
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

Mr. Maxwell was behind the counter, counting out nails.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Tundra Books.

Reason for Reading:  I enjoy Monica Kulling's children's biographies.

Another delightful entry in the Great Ideas series!  This time Kulling brings us an inventor probably not known to many people, certainly I'd never heard of her before.  Margaret Knight was prolific with her inventions and patents throughout her life but her most famous achievement was in the paper bag industry.  While she did not invent the flat-based paper bag she did invent the machine that made it possible to mass produce them instead of having each one individually hand produced.  Margaret Knight is an interesting woman of the late 1800s, who went against the lot cast for woman of the time period.  While she felt her life had been hampered because she was a woman she managed to rise above the attitudes of the day and achieve so much as a woman inventor.

A great, interesting little story.  I loved being introduced to this lesser known inventor and David Parkins illustrations are incredibly detailed with great facial expressions that nicely show the time period, being somewhat reminiscent of Rockwell.  Must have for libraries.