Frozen in Time (Adapted for Young Readers)

September 15, 2014
Clarence Birdseye, written about in three previous works for adults by Kurlansky-Cod (1997), Salt (2002) and The Last Fish Tale (2009)-takes center stage as the creator of a new food industry in this young-readers' adaptation of Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man (2012). Clarence Birdseye, like many inventors, was ahead of his time. When he created a new freezing process for food in 1927, there were no trucks or trains capable of transporting frozen food and no warehouses or stores able to store it. There was not even a market for frozen food; Birdseye had to create a market and an infrastructure to support it. Now, frozen foods are a given, and few people know that a real person is behind that package of Birdseye peas. This edition retains the essentials of Birdseye's fascinating story from the original, though a useful preface was dropped and a prologue added that condescends to young readers with its discussion of "the nerds of the Industrial Revolution" who made fortunes without even finishing college. Another distressing byproduct of this adaptation is that several sections are not as clearly written as in the original. Overall, though, it's a fascinating story of curiosity, imagination and invention. More and more young people are interested in where their food comes from, and this volume offers one fascinating part of the story. (bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-14)

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December 1, 2014

Gr 6-10-Based on Kurlansky's book for adults Birdseye: Adventures of a Curious Man (Random, 2012), this biography examines Birdseye founder Clarence Birdseye, who patented the process of freezing foods. Kurlansky describes how Birdseye dropped out of college for financial reasons, later working as a government field researcher. Between 1912 and 1915, he spent time on Canada's remote Labrador coast, where he found an opportunity in the fur business. There, he noticed that the native Inuit people could freeze food almost instantly in the frigid temperatures and that the food tasted fresh when thawed out. His curiosity about frozen foods never waned, and in the 1920s, he patented a machine that used salt water to freeze food rapidly. Birdseye caught the break of a lifetime when cereal magnate Marjorie Merriweather Post took an interest in his invention. When Post bought him out with her creation of the new company General Foods, Birdseye made a fortune, sealing the deal only three months before the stock market crash of 1929. In later years, the voraciously curious Birdseye also invented a handheld whale harpoon, as well as a high-efficiency heat lamp that is still in use. Kurlansky provides ample context, detailing relevant social and economic conditions (for instance, there was a correlation between population density and the spread of refrigeration in Brooklyn) and crediting a wide selection of contemporary and competing inventors. This is a compellingly told story with obvious curriculum connections.-Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2014
Grades 6-9 Kurlansky has made a name for himself as an author of nonfiction that celebrates the miracles of the mundane. In this adaptation of his adult book Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man (2012), he explores the life of Clarence Birdseye, a nerd who ignited a major paradigm shift in the way people think about food. The introduction puts Birdseye firmly in context with other great minds of the Industrial Revolution, including Eastman, Fulton, and Bell. Engaging text relates his life of adventure running dogsleds in Labrador, bouncing from one career to the next, and spending his old age in the wilds of Peru. Kurlansky asserts that Birdseye's idea to freeze food was born of countless life experiences, including tending a farm as a child. The father of the ubiquitous food brand lived a life that reminds young readers that the most essential ingredient to innovation is curiosity. An eight-page photo insert will be included.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)