Perkin's Perfect Purple: How a Boy Created Color with Chemistry

by Tami Lewis Brown, Debbie Loren Dunn, Francesca Sanna (Illustrator)

Overview

The fascinating true story of groundbreaking chemist William Perkin, who used the scientific method to invent a new way for creating the color purple.


Many years ago, the color purple was available only to a privileged few. Making purple was tricky. The dye was concocted from a certain snail, and later, from plants, bugs, and rocks. Then it had to be soaked in minerals and . . . urine! The process was very complicated and expensive (not to mention smelly!).


Until 1856, when a boy named William Henry Perkin invented a new way. While testing a hypothesis about a cure for malaria, he found that his experiment resulted in something else — something vivid and rare for the times: synthetic PURPLE. Perkin, a pioneer of the modern scientific method, made numerous advances possible, including canned food and chemotherapy. But it was his creation of purple that started it all.


Authors Tami Lewis Brown and Debbie Loren Dunn craft a compelling tale, and Francesca Sanna's dynamic art is a joyous celebration of Perkin's impactful purple.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368032841
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Pages:	56
Sales rank:	345,960
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Tami Lewis Brown is a former lawyer and elementary school librarian. She holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has written a novel for children and several picture books, including Instructions Not Included, co-written with Debbie Loren Dunn. Tami is always on the lookout for a new story to tell — the more weird or wonderful the better. She lives with her family in Washington, DC.

Debbie Loren Dunn graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in computer science and worked in the computer industry for twenty years, specializing in databases and data mining. She holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She loves true stories about people doing amazing things — especially when others have told them they can't, or they shouldn't. She is the coauthor of Instructions Not Included and lives in Austin, Texas, with her family.

Francesca Sanna is an illustrator and children's book author, whose books include The Journey and Me and My Fear. She is a recipient of the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal, an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer and Illustrator Honor, the Parents' Choice Awards Gold Medal, and an Amnesty CILIP Kate Greenaway Honour, among others. When she was a teen, she dyed her hair purple, which made her feel extremely cool. Francesca grew up in Italy and is currently based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Editorial Reviews

"Perfect for STEAM-infused reading and for grasping the value of serendipity."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This pleasant narrative detailing an unexpected discovery could appeal to readers interested in a variety of subjects: history, science, fashion, and uplifting stories of perseverance."—School Library Journal

"Brown and Dunn provide a thorough history of the color purple and reinforce the important, lifesaving ripple effects Perkin's discovery and systematic methods had across the scientific community; they smartly devote several pages to Perkin's meticulous scientific process."—Horn Book

From the Publisher

09/01/2020

Gr 1–5—This nonfiction picture book provides a factual but lighthearted snapshot of a discovery that had far-reaching consequences. A chemist by trade, white Englishman William Perkin attempted to create a synthetic version of quinine, a medication used to treat malaria. The book's nostalgic, comic-style images and old-fashioned font convey Perkin's disappointment. Readers see a dejected Perkin in his dress coat and high-collared shirt, sitting with a beaker against a completely black background. Small white type reads, "But the experiment was a failure. Quinine couldn't be made from coal tar." When cleaning his equipment, he discovered the leftover sludge was purple. Perkin's discovery may have been accidental, but the chemist knew it would become a hot commodity. More important, his method of discovery led to breakthroughs in science and medicine. The pages and endpapers are awash in various hues of purple and evocative of England's Victorian era. The final pages depict people from across the globe attired in purple, a color previously unaffordable by average citizens. An extensive author's note, resources, and instructions for a simple color experiment offer more substantive information about the impact of Perkin's discovery that, at first blush, appeared to be trivial. VERDICT This pleasant narrative detailing an unexpected discovery could appeal to readers interested in a variety of subjects: history, science, fashion, and uplifting stories of perseverance.—Lisa Taylor, Florida State Coll., Jacksonville

School Library Journal

★ 2020-07-14
An introduction to the life and innovations of William Henry Perkin (1838-1907), an English chemist who tried to find a cure for malaria but instead produced “purple for the people.”

Brown and Dunn establish context by showing a cloth maker’s dismay when Queen Victoria demands a crown of purple velvet: The challenge of producing it was one of the reasons the color was reserved for the rich and royals. Phoenicians had extracted the mucus of mollusks while the English soaked fabric in bark and berries, then urine to make it colorfast. Enter Perkin, son of a London carpenter. His professor at the Royal College of Chemistry, searching for an antidote during a malaria epidemic, gave Perkin a formula to attempt synthesizing quinine from coal tar. While the experiment failed, Perkin refined the scientific methodology and documentation and created—in a last-minute do-over—a gorgeous new color. The narrative is brisk, alliterative, and full of well-chosen details. Children will be intrigued at the ingenious and sometimes gross aspects of dye-making. In compositions brimming with pattern, Sanna controls an orderly palette, allowing the new hue to pop. Bright droplets are a design element throughout, framing key words, emanating from Perkin’s attic laboratory, squirting off the page to celebrate his lasting impact. The conclusion and extraordinarily rich author’s note and period visuals emphasize the White Englishman’s contributions to the fashion, medical, and scientific communities.

Perfect for STEAM-infused reading and for grasping the value of serendipity. (bibliography, experiment) (Picture book/biography. 6-12)

Kirkus Reviews