Over the next few pages we see Jonas going to school and training to be a scientist all through elementary school, high school, college, and medical school. “People prayed for a cure, but who could stop this terrible epidemic?” We look on the next page, and see Jonas as a young boy, standing resolute with curly hair, glasses, a suit and tie, and knee bridges. At first, he didn’t do well in competitions, but he remembered the coach’s words, “The people who do the best in chess are the ones who work the hardest.” A year later, he won the chess championship for the state.Ĭhildren may recognize the situations described in the next page when people kept away from bakeries and banks, pools and parks to avoid catching the virus. At first he was not a fan of all the cheeseburgers, cheese pizza, and macaroni and cheese.īut then he found out about the chess club at school, and was able to join because the fee was waived for his family who lived in a shelter. He talks of flying in a plane to their new home in America, and how it was hard to stay in unfamiliar rooms and to eat “gooey stuff called cheese” on everything. Tani tells us how his older brother made him feel safe as they traveled by teaching him to play chess by using a chessboard and pieces made from paper. (He has taken pains not to make things too frightening for children, simply saying “Boko Haram hurt people who disagreed with them.”) Tani tells us his life story in the third person, how he felt secure in his Nigerian neighborhood until Boko Haram, a terrorist group, started to make life dangerous for his family. For example, it was launched into space on Discovery and has inspired a magician. The author's note at the end includes some more interesting tidbits. Richard invented a machine that could manufacture their toy much faster, and Betty kept the phones and paperwork humming. Ford lets us know a little more about how Richard and Betty managed the business. When the postwar boom happened, the toy's popularity skyrocketed. The Slinky walked down the ramp and the store sold out of all 400 units that night. Finally, he persuaded the manager at the Gimbels department store to let him demonstrate it during the holiday season. Then, Richard went on the road to try to sell his idea, but toy sellers were skeptical. Richard went to the bank to get a loan to have 400 Slinkys made. (Can you see a companion activity for the kids? Developing toys and then looking for just the right name?) Betty searched the dictionary trying to find just the right name for their new toy. The author, Gilbert Ford, does a nice job of showing the next steps in the process. Anyone who's been in the business world knows it's not as simple as having a good idea.
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