The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring

Starred review from July 11, 2016
The Slinky, one of the great toy sensations of the 20th century, was born during WWII, when naval engineer Richard James noticed a torsion spring’s unusual properties: the spring “fell from the shelf above his desk. Its coils took a walk.” A nail-biter of a debut in the toy department of Gimbels pays off, and the baby boom supplied the market—although Ford, who never underplays the grit required to launch an invention, reveals that James’s wife/collaborator, Betty, was ready to plant a shill in the Gimbels audience, just in case. Ford (Mr. Ferris and His Wheel) writes with reportorial concision, and his visual style is elaborately and ingeniously playful, capturing both a midcentury American optimism and the tinkerer mindset. His photographed dioramas are assembled from expressive paper doll figures, two-dimensional drawings, and three-dimensional objects; one scene of a postwar suburb includes appropriately humongous toy cars. Readers may not have the extensive firsthand Slinky experience of previous generations, but they’ll probably recall Slinky Dog from the Toy Story films. Besides, the entrepreneur is fast becoming as much an aspirational hero as the cowboy, astronaut, or ninja. Ages 4–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

July 15, 2016
Ford portrays the back story of the Slinky, the coiled steel toy that debuted in 1945 and still sells today.Richard James, a white naval engineer at a Philadelphia shipyard, discovers that a torsion spring, aided by gravity, can "walk" from an incline. James and his wife, Betty, persevere to create and market the toy. Securing a $500 bank loan to produce 400 units, Richard demonstrates the toy at Gimbels during the holiday season, selling all 400 Slinkys in 90 minutes. Later, he designs machinery that speeds fabrication. Ford's reductive narrative portrays the couple as an enterprising unit: as production shifts to a factory, it "took the teamwork of a dreamer and a planner to turn an ordinary spring... / into a truly marvelous thing!" Betty's role in resurrecting the company from near bankruptcy in 1960, after Richard "left to do missionary work in Bolivia," is relegated to a note. Ford omits the couple's divorce, six kids, why the company foundered, and that Betty ran it successfully until its 1998 sale. Busy illustrations combine digitally created cutouts with found objects, photographed in dioramas. While some of the cartoonish figures are depicted as people of color, most are white, tinted various pinks. Found objects seem haphazardly chosen and integrated compared to the superior constructions of Melissa Sweet. Obliquely told and unevenly illustrated, this Slinky story's just OK. (bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

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July 1, 2016

K-Gr 2-The history of an iconic toy is shared in this delightful title from award-winning illustrator Ford. Authoring his first nonfiction picture book, Ford introduces his readers to naval engineer Richard James and his wife, Betty James. Always a dreamer, Richard James watches in wonder one day as a torsion spring falls from a shelf in his office and its coils take a walk. In that moment, the seeds of an idea are planted in his imagination, and with the help of his family, Richard James invents a new toy. Through his ingenuity, a simple spring is transformed into the "Slinky, a one-of-a-kind thing!" After a hit demonstration to holiday shoppers at Gimbels, Richard and Betty James's business becomes a thriving enterprise. Ford's forthright narrative is informative, and his illustrations are as inventive as the engineer's amusing new toy. The pictures capture the can-do attitude of the mid-20th century United States and mirror the clever creativity the inventor needed to bring his sensational toy to kids and parents across the country. Found objects such as metal springs, dominoes, fuzzy pipe cleaners, and game pieces decorate the dioramic illustrations, adding a touch of whimsy to the scenes chronicling the Jameses' entrepreneurial journey. VERDICT Young scientists and kids at heart will appreciate this nostalgic look at a popular accidental invention.-Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Preschool-G Who hasn't had fun with a Slinky at some point in childhood? This toy has been ubiquitous since its creation in the mid-twentieth century, and its origin story will grab young readers and might spur would-be inventors to think about the way simple things capture imaginations. Meanwhile, older readers will have fun pinpointing all the vintage treasure Ford uses to embellish his three-dimensional set-piece illustrations: from dominoes and pick-up sticks to plastic sedans and dollhouse sofas, he imaginatively uses childhood's commonplaces to add pizzazz. The story itself, while explored in books like Charlotte Foltz Jones' Mistakes That Worked (1991), remains fascinating. The toy was first conceived during WWII, when engineer Richard Jones noticed a spring he'd been working with could walk from a shelf, but it gained momentum as a pop culture touchstone when his wife, Betty, not only named the toy but also found ways to market it, from department store demos to catchy jingles. Readers intrigued by the origins of commonplace things will find this a fulfilling piece of nonfiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)