As mentioned in a previous review(s) I have been going through my online reader copy links. And I was picking out the older ones (those from mid and late 2022 to about four or five months ago), and I found Josephine and Her Dishwashing Machine : Josephine Cochrane’s Bright Invention Makes a Splash Kate Hannigan and illustrated by Sarah Green. Currently available, as said, I read online.
The book report part of this review is that while the woman inventor has been seen before, I have never seen or heard of Cochrane or her invention before. Oh sure, I know what a dishwasher is, but never really thought about how it came to be. To mean it was just something “there” and something you used if you had one, and obviously didn’t if you didn’t have one. But learning how a more well-to-do woman didn’t want her dishes chipped, or be up to her elbows in soapy water was fascinating. The ins and outs were typical of the time, yet she was ahead of it, too. The history of a machine we take for granted and the woman behind it is a trip. Except for the fact that I would have liked a bit more of her personal life, this was a practically a perfect biography. The extras just add to the fun (female inventors and a timeline of important inventors and/or who were related to Cochrane’s life/timeline).
The artwork is perfect for the story as it is classically inspired and gives off those vibes. They are colorful, and overly detailed to be almost too busy, yet still well done and what the book needs. There is a lot going on in the story and art, everything was linked to being emotionally felt as well as the factual element. As a sidebar, my link to The Brilliant Calculator : How Mathematician Edith Clarke Helped Electrify America by Jan Lower and illustrated by Susan Reagan expired, but something tells me they would be perfect companions.