The Potato Chip Puzzles

The Potato Chip Puzzles (The Puzzling World of Winston Breen)
By Eric Berlin
J BER

Winston Breen, a precocious junior high school student with a proclivity for puzzles, is picked to represent his school in a puzzle-solving competition hosted by a local potato chip tycoon. The prize is $50,000 for the winning team’s school. Winston, to the dismay of his competitive school chaperone Mr. Garvey, chooses his friends Mal and Jake to be on his team. The competition consists of six puzzles scattered in places throughout the city, taking the teams to a planetarium, a farm, an amusement park, and other interesting locales. Throughout the competition, a saboteur wreaks havoc with the competing teams and sows discord and suspicion between the contestants. Winston must not only solve all the puzzles created for the competition, but also figure out who is trying to win at all costs.

Winston faces many ethical dilemmas throughout the competition and shows more maturity and diplomacy than some of the teacher chaperones, who seem a bit one-dimensional. The plot moves at a quick pace and incorporates various fun word and number puzzles for the reader to solve along with Winston and his teammates. (Answers are provided in the back.)

Mystery fans and lovers of puzzles should enjoy The Potato Chip Puzzles. Those interested in solving more puzzles can work on the extra puzzles in the back of the book or visit www.winstonbreen.com. Pair this book with The Red Blazer Girls by Michael Beil (J BEI) or some puzzle books in the 793 section of the library.

Reviewed by Margaret Ballard

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me
By Rebecca Stead
Call Number J STE

Miranda is a twelve-year-old girl who lives with her single mom in a New York City apartment. When the story opens in early 1979, Miranda relates to a mysterious person how her mother had just been invited to be a contestant on Dick Clark’s game show The $20,000 Pyramid in April, an event the mysterious person had predicted. This mysterious person wants Miranda to write a letter retelling the events of the autumn and winter of 1978.
Miranda writes:

“Sometimes I work on it in my head, trying to map out the story you asked me to tell, about everything that happened this past fall and winter. It’s all still there, like a movie I can watch when I want to. Which is never.”

Fortunately for both the reader and the mysterious person, Miranda does consider writing the letter and in the process tells an amazing and tragic story.

As Miranda recalls recent events, we meet her friends and are introduced to the crazy man who has taken residence under the mailbox on the corner by Miranda’s apartment. Miranda’s favorite book is A Wrinkle In Time, which won the Newberry in 1963. Familiarity with A Wrinkle In Time is not necessary, but would enrich the overall story. Miranda makes multiple references to events in her favorite book and her mysterious schoolmate Marcus uses scenes from the book to explain the concept of time travel.

This 2010 winner of the Newberry Medal is an intriguing and quick read. Stead’s narrative is tighter than it seems at first glance, so don’t skim. Part of the suspense is derived from slowly realizing what is going on. When You Reach Me touches on the themes of growing up, friendship, sacrifice, redemption, and even time-travel. The story is powerful and makes the reader think while reading and reflect on the story long after closing the book. After finishing, you might want to turn back to the beginning and re-read to appreciate how all the little details come together and savor the spectacular storytelling.

Reviewed by Margaret Ballard

The Day-Glo Brothers

The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors

By Chris Barton
Illustrated by Tony Persiani
Call Number J 535.352 BAR

Have you ever wondered about who invented the color of the ink in your highlighter or where the orange color of a traffic cone came from? In The Day-Glo Brothers, Chris Barton tells the story of how two brothers named Bob and Joe Switzer, who through a combination of hard work, dedication, problem-solving, and serendipity invented what is known as Day-Glo, the bright fluorescent colors used in highlighters, safety equipment, signs, and many other objects.

Bob was a hard worker and a planner who aspired to be a doctor. Joe enjoyed performing in magic shows and excelled in problem-solving. While working a summer job in 1933 inspecting railroad cars at a factory, Bob fell and sustained a head injury that impaired his memory, gave him seizures, and ended his ambitions in the medical profession. While Bob recovered in the basement, Joe kept him company experimenting with ultraviolet light and fluorescence so he could improve his magic acts. Together Bob and Joe built an ultraviolet lamp. They later took it to their father’s pharmacy and shined light on objects in the dark storeroom. One bottle emitted a yellow glow. This phenomenon inspired the brothers to do further experimentation and research to create different fluorescent colors. At first, the brothers were limited using fluorescent colors in the dark, illuminated by an ultraviolet light. They eventually figured out how to make colors glow during the day and invented Day-Glo.

To find out more about Bob and Joe and how they developed Day-Glo and grew rich, head to the physics section of our library and check out this book, and perhaps some of the surrounding books on light. Author Chris Barton’s narrative of the story is engaging. Illustrator Tony Persiani creatively uses Day-Glo colors to highlight the brothers’ progress throughout the story. If you are interested in learning more about fluorescence and ultra-violet light, visit the book’s website for a brief demonstration.

Reviewed by Margaret Ballard