The Day-Glo Brothers

The Day-Glo Brothers: the true story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors
By Chris Barton; illustrated by Tony Persiani
Charlesbridge, 2009. Unpaged. Juvenile nonfiction.

How would you like to invent a whole new color? That's exactly what brothers Joe and Bob Switzer did, and not only one, but three. These colors were a whole new type known as day-glo, or flourescent, because they appeared to glow brightly in the daytime. Their invention not only brought them wealth but also served many useful purposes, even helping win a war!

After reading this book, it's interesting to consider all our current uses of day-glo colors that have lasted through the years. I found the Switzer brothers' life and inventiveness very interesting and loved to see how their creativeness evolved in such a fulfilling manner. Persiani's retro cartoon style is fantastic in this book, and I loved how the illustrations ranged from black and white to spreads with full-on neon vividness! Although the bright colors left me temporarily blinded, it was still worth the experience. For a bright, eye-opening experience, read The Day-Glo Brothers!

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