Clean Sweep!: Frank Zamboni's Ice Machine

Description

A new picture book biography in the award-winning Great Ideas series (Tundra), Clean Sweep! introduces young readers to an inventor whose work transformed skating. When Frank Zamboni opened his own rink in 1940 in California it could take an hour and a half for a crew to resurface the ice. Working in the shed behind his ice rink, Frank drew designs and built models of machines he hoped would help simplify the job. For nine years he worked on his invention and finally, in 1949, Frank tested the Model A, which 'cleaned the ice in one sweep round the rink.' The rest is history.

Monica Kulling is a poet who has published over forty books for children, including picture books, adaptations of classic novels, and biographies. Known for introducing biography for children who are just learning to read, she has written about Harriet Tubman, Henry Ford, Houdini, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart, among others. Her award-winning Great Idea Series features biographies of inventors and their captivating inventions. She is also the author of Merci Mister Dash! and Mister Dash and the Cupcake Calamity. Visit her website at www.monicakulling.ca. Renne Benoit is an acclaimed illustrator who grew up in Nepean, Ontario. She studied graphic design, but soon realized that her passion was for illustrating children's books. Her titles have won the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, and Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Award. Her award nominations include the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustration, the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award, the Blue Spruce Award, and the Silver Birch Express Award. She is the illustrator of Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion by Jane Barclay. Visit her website at www.rennebenoit.ca.

"Clean Sweep! describes how [Frank Zamboni's] design resulted in the Zamboni machine (used all over the world today), which can move many cubic feet of ice in one pass, wash the surface, and apply fresh water-all in 10 minutes. Benoit's gouache and watercolor illustrations accurately depict the changing time periods, and the rounded shapes, with warm, muted blues, grays, and browns, are pleasing to a child's eye." - Starred Review, School Library Journal "Kulling has created a book that entices, provides a sense of history and hints at the atmosphere of the time. Again she is partnered with an acclaimed illustrator, this time Renne Benoit whose artwork has the reader poring over the expressive, detailed pages. In muted shades of greys, blues and sepia, the watercolour and coloured pencil drawings are a perfect foil for the story with text and illustrations engaging the reader instantly ...." - CM Magazine "Frank's story provides insight into the realities of mid-twentieth-century American working life, when many children needed to leave school early to work on family farms, siblings saved up to send one family member to college, and observant entrepreneurs created new products and opened up new businesses .... The overriding message is perseverance ...." - Starred Review, Booklist "Large, soft coloured illustrations set the scene for this biographical text .... Lyrically written, this appealing story should hold the readers interest and prove to be a valuable source of information for further study and discussion .... This excellent text should prove to be a popular addition to an elementary school library resource centre and is highly recommended. " - Resource Links