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Mistakes that Worked

40 Familiar Inventions & How They Came to Be

Author Charlotte Foltz Jones
Illustrated by John O'Brien
Ebook
RH Childrens Books | Delacorte Press
On sale May 12, 2015 | 96 Pages | 9780307557988
Grades 6-8
Reading Level: Lexile 1040L | Fountas & Pinnell T
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Popsicles, potato chips, Silly Putty, Velcro, and many other familiar things have fascinating stories behind them. In fact, dozens of products and everyday items had surprisingly haphazard beginnings. Mistakes That Worked offers forty of these unusual tales, along with hilarious cartoons and weird and amazing facts. Readers will be surprised and inspired!

Charlotte Foltz Jones is the author of Mistakes That Worked, Accidents May Happen, Eat Your Words, and Fingerprints and Talking Bones. View titles by Charlotte Foltz Jones
John O’Brien has held writing fellowships at the University of Iowa and Stanford University, and he was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. His work has appeared in Hudson Review, Massachusetts Review, TriQuarterly, Country Journal, Harrowsmith, and Gray’s Sporting Journal. He lives with his wife, Becky, in Franklin, West Virginia. View titles by John O'Brien
  • WINNER | 1996
    Kentucky Bluegrass Master List
"A splendid book that is as informative as it is entertaining. Jones has great fun with facts, dredging up plenty in a lively, anecdotal account that recollects the oddball origins of a variety of foods, clothing, toys, and devices....A gem of a book."--Booklist, starred review

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Popsicles, potato chips, Silly Putty, Velcro, and many other familiar things have fascinating stories behind them. In fact, dozens of products and everyday items had surprisingly haphazard beginnings. Mistakes That Worked offers forty of these unusual tales, along with hilarious cartoons and weird and amazing facts. Readers will be surprised and inspired!

Author

Charlotte Foltz Jones is the author of Mistakes That Worked, Accidents May Happen, Eat Your Words, and Fingerprints and Talking Bones. View titles by Charlotte Foltz Jones
John O’Brien has held writing fellowships at the University of Iowa and Stanford University, and he was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. His work has appeared in Hudson Review, Massachusetts Review, TriQuarterly, Country Journal, Harrowsmith, and Gray’s Sporting Journal. He lives with his wife, Becky, in Franklin, West Virginia. View titles by John O'Brien

Awards

  • WINNER | 1996
    Kentucky Bluegrass Master List

Praise

"A splendid book that is as informative as it is entertaining. Jones has great fun with facts, dredging up plenty in a lively, anecdotal account that recollects the oddball origins of a variety of foods, clothing, toys, and devices....A gem of a book."--Booklist, starred review

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