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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea: A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants
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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea: A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants Hardcover - 2011 - 1st Edition

by Tony Johnston; Stacy Innerst (Illustrator)

A Wild West tall tale, "Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea" relates how Levi Strauss went to California during the Gold Rush, saw the need for a sturdier kind of trouser, and invented jeans. Full color.


Summary

Wild West chaos and creative problem solving are the force behind a well-loved American institution.

What’s a California miner to do when gold dust sifts right out of his holey pockets? With such a raggedy wardrobe, he may as well be mining in the vanilla (that is, his birthday suit)! Good thing Levi Strauss is out west, ready with his needle and a head full of bright ideas. With some quick thinking, quicker stitching, and handy arithmetic, Levi keeps all the gold rushers clothed—and becomes a modern American hero. A Wild West tall tale, Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea celebrates creativity, innovation, and the ubiquitous item that fills the closets of grateful jeans wearers worldwide.

From the publisher

Tony Johnston's many acclaimed picture books include My Abuelita, a Pura Belpré Honor Book, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, and The Worm Family, illustrated by Stacy Innerst.

Stacy Innerst is an award-winning editorial artist and the illustrator of several picture books, including Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer's Lincoln Tells a Joke and Krull's M is for Music. www.stacyinnerst.com

Details

  • Title Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea: A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants
  • Author Tony Johnston; Stacy Innerst (Illustrator)
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition number 1st
  • Edition 1
  • Pages 32
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Clarion Books
  • Date 2011-09-13
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Dust Cover, Illustrated
  • ISBN 9780152061456 / 0152061452
  • Weight 0.95 lbs (0.43 kg)
  • Dimensions 10.5 x 9.6 x 0.4 in (26.67 x 24.38 x 1.02 cm)
  • Ages 04 to 07 years
  • Grade levels P - 2
  • Reading level 610
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 19th Century
    • Cultural Region: Western U.S.
    • Cultural Region: West Coast
    • Geographic Orientation: California
  • Library of Congress subjects Clothing and dress, Tall tales
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2010043402
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

"By the second spread, with miners working in their long johns or, discreetly, "in the vanilla," listeners will be thoroughly hooked. The humor is broad and the language inventive, yet reminiscent of the times."--Kirkus Reviews  

"Johnston creates an unrepentantly exaggerated version of events that is sure to entertain, offering more factual information about Strauss in an author's note. Using a bright idea of his own, Innerst (Lincoln Tells a Joke) chronicles the raucous action in acrylic paintings on a canvas of, yes, old Levi's jeans. The denim's texture provides an appropriately rugged tone to the colorful proceedings."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

 

"An outlandish whopper of a tall tale, this story just begs to be read aloud with an old-timey Western accent. Johnston weaves together fact and fiction, resulting in a hilarious narrative about how Strauss became the denim king... A first choice for any collection, this book is worth its weight in denim–or gold."--School Library Journal, starred review

 

"Johnston antes up the readaloudability with traditional tall-tale banter and a bold-faced "Dang!" every time Strauss gets a brainstorm. Innerst extends the fun by painting the sartorially challenged miners on, what else, blue jeans, craftily leaving the blue untouched for jeans, tents, chalkboards, ocean, and bay, and letting flat-felled seams do double duty as the floor of a covered wagon or the roadway of the Golden Gate Bridge."-Bulletin

Citations

  • Booklist, 09/15/2011, Page 70
  • Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks, 10/01/2011, Page 0
  • Hornbook Guide to Children, 01/01/2012, Page 31
  • Kirkus Reviews, 07/15/2011, Page 0
  • Publishers Weekly, 07/18/2011, Page 0
  • Publishers Weekly Best Books, 11/07/2011, Page 44
  • School Library Journal, 08/01/2011, Page 77

About the author

Tony Johnston's many acclaimed picture books include My Abuelita, a Pura Belpr Honor Book, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, and The Worm Family, illustrated by Stacy Innerst.

Stacy Innerst is an award-winning editorial artist and the illustrator of several picture books, including Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer's Lincoln Tells a Joke and Krull's M is for Music. www.stacyinnerst.com

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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea : A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants
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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea : A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants

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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea : A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants

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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea : A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants
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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea : A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants

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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea : A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants

by Tony Johnston

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Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea: A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants

by Johnston, Tony

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