From School Library Journal
Gr 2-5-Knight was interested in how things worked and in building and inventing. This picture book tells the story of how she came up with the idea to make a safer loom at age 12. Like many children of the 1800s, Mattie worked in a textile mill. She was greatly troubled by the many accidents and even deaths caused by the shuttle or "kiss of death." After several attempts, she designed a stop-motion gadget that changed weaving machines forever. Of course she needed her brother-in-law's help since no one would listen to a girl. She went on to invent 26 more things, including folded, square-bottomed paper bags. The softly colored paintings enhance information given in the text and offer a clear view of the looms. The illustrated glossary furthers this clarification. Subtle humor appears in several spreads. A playful cat hangs on the table in one picture. In another, it plays with a butterfly. In yet another, readers have the cat's view of Mattie as it looks down from the stairs. The account is well told with language and dialogue that bring her story to life. Because of its fictional format, the book will not be a strong source for reports; it is, however, an enjoyable story of a strong young woman.-Carolyn Janssen, Children's Learning Center of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 2-5. This inspiring true story of a girl who worked in a nineteenth-century textile mill and invented a critical safety device will be a good resource for social studies classes, and a fine lead-in to Russell Freeman's Kids at Work (1994), which is for a slightly older audience. But the book also stands alone as a fascinating story in picture-book format. At 10, Margaret Knight started working at Amoskeag Mills in Manchester, New Hampshire. At 12, she invented a safety arm, a stop-action device for the textile loom. This invention instantly and dramatically reduced the number of worker injuries and deaths. As she grew older, Margaret invented countless other safety and laborsaving devices, including paper bags with folded-square bottoms. Brill's engaging text presents Knight's life as a story that focus on the intrepid inventor's individuality and determination. An introduction and an afterword provide details about child labor and Knight's career. Colored pencil drawings are realistic, if somewhat cheerful, as they depict factory life. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
