Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor

With her sketchbook labeled My Inventions and her father's toolbox, Mattie could make almost anything - toys, sleds, and a foot warmer. When she was just twelve years old, Mattie designed a metal guard to prevent shuttles from shooting off textile looms and injuring workers. As an adult, Mattie invented the machine that makes the square-bottom paper bags we still use today. However, in court, a man claimed the invention was his, stating that she could not possibly understand the mechanical complexities. Marvelous Mattie proved him wrong, and over the course of her life earned the title of the Lady Edison.

With charming pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, this introduction to one of the most prolific female inventors will leave readers inspired.

Marvelous Mattie is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Published: 02/21/2006
Pages: 32
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 11.28h x 9.36w x 0.32d
ISBN: 9780374348106
Age: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.2
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 105170 / Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor


Award: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee
Award: North Carolina Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Delaware Diamonds Award - Nominee
Award: Bluebonnet Awards - Nominee
Award: Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award - Nominee
Award: Georgia Children's Book Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/09/2006 pg. 53
School Library Journal 02/01/2006 pg. 122
Kirkus Review - Children 02/15/2006 pg. 187
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2006 pg. 206
Booklist 02/15/2006 pg. 110
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2006 pg. 366 - Recommended
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2006 pg. 427 - Outstanding, Noteworthy In Style
Science Books & Films 01/01/2007 pg. 40
Science Books & Films 05/01/2007 pg. 103
Science Books & Films Best Bks 01/01/2008 pg. 13

About the Author

EMILY ARNOLD MCCULLY, a Caldecott Medalist, has written
and illustrated over fifty children's books, including Squirrel and
John Muir, which received the Giverny Award for best science
picture book. She divides her time between New York City and
upstate New York.