The Day-Glo Brothers
by
Chris Barton
Order:
USA
Can
Charlesbridge, 2009 (2009)
Hardcover
Reviewed by Lyn Seippel
T
he bright Day-Glo colors we see daily didn't exist before 1935. You may never have heard of the Switzer brothers, but their ingenuity and creativity brought us these gleaming florescent colors.
B
ob Switzer, the older brother, is a hard worker with plans to be a doctor. While working a part time job, Bob has a tragic fall that causes memory loss. His plans to become a doctor are stalled.
J
oe, the younger brother, is less ambitious than his older brother. He is a part-time magician. He spends most of his time working on his magic act. Joe has a knack for problem solving. While Bob is recuperating in their darkened basement, Joe is there for another reason. He is interested in the ultraviolent lights that cause objects to glow in the dark. He wants to use this phenomenon in his magic act. Bob is bored and decides to help.
F
rom library books, they learn to make paints that glow-in-the-dark when lit with ultraviolet light. The brothers then decide to make colors that will glow when seen in the daylight. At home, without scientific labs and expensive chemicals, the brothers go on to invent Day-Glo paints.
T
ony Persuani illustrated this book with black and white cartoons, adding Day-Glo colors as the book nears the end. This absorbing tale of the Switzer brothers should appeal to grades four through six – and their parents.
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