Now & Ben

Barretta, Gene. Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006.

Newspaper political cartoons, bifocals, lightning rods, and the Grabber are just a few of the inventions of Benjamin Franklin that we still use today. Desk chairs at school—Ben Franklin. Daylight Savings Time—Ben Franklin. The odometer…once again, Ben Franklin. This book details several of Benjamin Franklin’s inventions that are still around, and still useful, today.

I was amazed at the number of items still in use that came from the mind of the great statesman. This book does a wonderful job of explaining the history of the inventions and still keeping the book easy to understand.

What others have to say…

“ Most young children won’t grasp the play on the phrase now and then but will zero in instead on the well-chosen examples…This will be a punchy read-aloud to lighten up American history units, though teachers wanting more details will need to look elsewhere as the book’s biographical context is scattershot and no end matter is provided.”

Mattson, Jennifer. 2006. "Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin." Booklist 102, no. 13: 98. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed May 8, 2009).