Tool. Time. Twist.: A Brief History of Tools Through Time

Gr 2–4—In chronological order, Shapiro provides facts about 20 tools, from sticks and stones dating back 2.5 million years ago to the multi-tool, invented in 1983. On each spread, the text asks, "What's the tool?" and "What's the time?" while the recto reads, "What's the twist?" and gives answers in one or two sentences. The responses range from how the tool is or was used, or even who finds the item the most helpful. Done mostly in tepid shades of brown and gray, the cartoon illustrations add humor to the text. Some irate woolly mammoths face down a penitent caveman after the invention of the projectile point. The appearance of the sewing needle 30,000 years ago features people from that era strutting their stuff on the runway while Fred and Wilma Flintstone look on. The stated intention of the book is to provide a concise overview of the subject, but sometimes that brevity is problematic. For example, the "Twist" for sticks and stones is "humans and our ancestors are not the only ones to use tools. Otters, octopuses, chimpanzees and crows have all been known to use them too!" Which items these animals used or how they used them is never explained. An additional purchase.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ