Recommended Ages: Gr.

Plot Summary: Rube Goldberg wanted to be a cartoonist from a very young age but his father discouraged it. After studying engineering in college, he despised his engineering job so he left for a job doing organization and cleaning jobs at a newspaper. The 1906 earthquake caused Rube to head to New York, where he faced quite a few no's before being hired by the New York Evening Mail. His success as a cartoonist occurred practically overnight. He became famous for his famous inventions to do simple every day tasks.

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Recurring Themes: art, drawing, perseverance, determination, confidence, Jewish

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: Kids who read this will become familiar with someone who was determined to succeed. Hopefully, readers will also understand how to read a Rube Goldberg machine and see the humor in it as well.

Genre: picture-book biography

Pacing: fast -- 1-3 sentences per page, don't have to spend too much time looking at the cartoons to get the themes of the story
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Very fun picture book bio about a unique person! The illustrations, including the cover and endpapers, often include diagrams of Rube's ridiculous inventions. Back matter includes more about Goldberg's life, and sources.

See also: Book cover


The girl who could fix anything : Beatrice Shilling, World War II engineer by Mara Rockliff ( )

Great story - easy to read! ( )