The New York Times
America is the melting pot, right? So what better demonstration of diversity in action than this account of ethnic rivalry surrounding the appearance at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 of that summer essential, the ice cream cone.
Publishers Weekly
Greenstein (Dreaming) offers a beguiling introduction to the art of historical sleuthing with a can't-miss subject: the invention of the ice cream cone. At the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, she writes, "There were more than fifty ice-cream sellers... and, they say, a lot of waffle-makers. At some point, the two came together to form an ice-cream cone. But who came up with the idea first?" The scratchboard-like gouache tableaux that lay out her search for the answer take on the light, confectionary feel of their subject; the competing St. Louis claimants appear on a proscenium stage, like contestants in a beauty contest. But Greenstein's purpose and method is quite serious. She weighs evidence, demonstrating that historical documentation can often be untidy, carefully labels any conjecture on her part and includes a closing bibliography. Ultimately, she presents the winner as someone who does not appear in the onstage line-up (Italo Marchiony, a New York City vendor was awarded the patent for the ice cream cone mold in 1903), but even readers who voted for one of the early contenders will appreciate the author's imagined scenario of how Marchiony came up with his invention. Scrupulous to the end, Greenstein points out the distinction between Marchiony's "wafer" cone, as it is now popularly called, with its flat bottom, and the pointy St. Louis cone-aka the "sugar" or "waffle" cone. This tasty narrative treat could well prove delicious inspiration for current and future writers of history reports. Ages 4-8. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-Greenstein's search for the official originator of the ice-cream cone starts with the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair where ice-cream vendors rubbed elbows with waffle bakers and five individuals claimed credit for the invention. The real creator, however, was Italo Marchiony, who patented a cone mold in 1903. Details are unknown so the author provides a story, stressing, "this is still the made-up part," and encourages readers to speculate along with her. Illustrations, monoprints overpainted with soft-toned gouache, are sketchy and quaint, leaning lightly on ethnic stereotypes for identification purposes (a Turkish citizen wearing a fez, a Frenchman wearing a beret). Each recto bears a full-page illustration, with smaller artwork breaking up text on the verso. In what may be the book's only shortcoming, some terms lack explanation, for example, "hootchy-cootchy dancers" and "U.S. patent office." Ice Cream Cones concludes with suggestions on how to eat this treat, research notes, and a substantial bibliography.-Liza Graybill, Worcester Public Library, MA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
As irresistible as its subject, Greenstein's jaunty text and marvelous pictures are also an object lesson in the joys and perils of research. On April 30, 1904, the world's fair opened in St. Louis, Missouri. We know that people ate ice cream cones there, because there are photographs. But who invented the ice cream cone? Was it Arnold Fournachou, who asked Ernest Hamwi at the waffle stand to make waffles that he could roll and put his ice cream in? Or was it Charles Menches, whose lady friend wrapped the top of her ice cream sandwich around the flowers he gave her, and rolled the bottom into a cone to hold the ice cream? Greenstein merrily shoots down all five candidates, because Italo Marchiony came to New York in 1895 with his grandmother's recipe for ice cream, and by December 1903-before the fair opened-patented a device to make ten cookie-cone molds at once. The pictures-monoprints overpainted with gouache-are in pastel ice cream colors and sugar cone textures. As delicious as the story. (author's note, bibliography) (Picture book. 4-8)
