A Curious Mind and a Very Big Heart

May 1, 2023
A habit of careful observation led to the design of today's N95 medical masks. Born in 1917 in Brooklyn to Russian Jewish parents, Sara Little Turnbull (nee Finkelstein) paid close attention to small details, like the skin of an onion or the shape of an egg. Working as an editor for House Beautiful and a product designer, she traveled the world for inspiration. Noticing the unwieldy medical masks in the hospital where her sister was being treated for cancer in the 1940s, she designed an alternative that in 1995 was developed into the N95 mask. Lewis makes this fact the climax for an appealingly illustrated but cursory biography. Readers might be intrigued by examples of Turnbull's creations, such as an upside-down watch pinned to her shirt, "light-as-air space suits," "good-for-kids sweets," and a more functional pot lid inspired by a cheetah's grip on its prey. But they will have to look elsewhere to learn that the pot was part of the ubiquitous CorningWare. Well-composed visuals make vibrant use of texture, elegantly set against white backdrops. One spread highlights an inspirational poster that the writer explains is "a reminder that mistakes can help you grow," though a more specific example of mistakes in Turnbull's life would have helped readers understand her mindset, as quoted in backmatter: "Ninety percent of my career was made up of failure, but failure is not defeat...." (This book was reviewed digitally.) Slight and sketchy. (sources and further reading) (Picture-book biography. 5-9)

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June 1, 2023
Grades K-3 It is a challenge to write a brief biography of someone whose achievements are as varied as those of Sara Little Turnbull. Sara's original creations included a range of everyday and household objects, a spacesuit, and the precursor to the N95 surgical mask. Lewis tries to bring together these disparate strands under the umbrella of "design," which she describes in flowing, colorful script as ""imagining, planning, and creating something useful"" and, later, as ""magic,"" ""curiosity,"" ""being inventive,"" and ""creating order."" The story traces Turnbull's journey from a curious, observant child to a mature designer and, eventually, teacher. Lewis' free-flowing drawings evoke Turnbull's creativity, although a more realistic style might have been more effective in bringing her specific creations to life. Readers drawn to the abstract concept of design will find this book inspiring, while those more interested in Turnbull's concrete achievements will also find plenty in the text to pique their curiosity. Either way, readers will be glad to have learned about this extraordinary woman.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 9, 2023
The N95 mask that became a part of daily life for many during the Covid-19 pandemic has its origins in an invention by industrial design pioneer Sara Little Turnbull (1917–2015). Attentive text from Lewis (Can Sophie Change the World?) notes the way Turnbull started life “looking carefully” at things while at museums and at home with her mother: “The delicate shape of an egg./ The iridescent skin of a purple onion.” As her curiosity leads her to study design, stylish editorial spot art shows how she becomes the brains behind cake mixes, ready-to-go gift ribbons, and an inspiration-related method of ideation: watching a cheetah gripping its prey in Kenya gives her the idea for a pot lid, and observing cumbersome hospital masks suggests to her room for improvement. In a breezy bio that’s as much about the figure’s tenacity as it is about her powers of insight, one playful illustration shows her threading her way through a maze—symbolic of a knotty problem—that eventually leaves her confounded. But Turnbull always persisted, reminding herself that “if you don’t stretch, you don’t know where the edge is.” An afterword concludes. Ages 5–8. Agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright Agency.