The Woman Who Invented Windshield Wipers

August 1, 2014

Gr 3-5-This new series offers profiles of some lesser-known originators of well-known creations (with the exception of Jacques Cousteau). The book designs may not grab kids, but they should be engaged by these intriguing choices of subjects. Librarians looking to beef up biography sections or supplement curricular units have some solid and well-written, if not groundbreaking, choices here.

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2014
Grades 2-4 It's hard to imagine a car without windshield wipers, but when the first windshields appeared on cars in 1904, drivers had to clean them by hand. And it's hard to imagine that in a time dominated by male drivers and scientists, it was a woman who invented the first wipers. Although scant information exists on Mary Anderson, this entry in the Inventors at Work series provides enough background on this atypical woman. Accompanied by archival photos and (undocumented) primary source quotes, the book tells how, after riding on street cars in the snow, Anderson patented her design for a window cleaning device. She was never able to sell her patent, but the text describes how windshield wipers eventually became successful and a necessary part of driving. An intriguing look at an everyday device.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)