Gizmos, Gadgets, and Guitars

The Story of Leo Fender

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Christy Ottaviano Books

Henry Holt and Co.

(pub. 9.7.2021) 40 pages

Author: Michael Mahin

Illustrator: Steven Salerno

Character: Leo Fender

Overview: "Leo Fender loved to thinker and tinker and take things apart and put them back together again. When he lost an eye in a childhood accident, he refused to think of himself as broken. With a new pair of magnifying glasses, Leo got back to doing what he loved, fixing machines big and small―even broken instruments.

His inventions―which included the Telecaster and the Stratocaster―would inspire the rock ’n’ roll generation and go on to amplify the talents of legendary guitarists Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Bonnie Raitt, among others. Fender’s brilliant engineering vision connected science and art forever."

Tantalizing taste:

"Western swing bands had cowboyed their way across the country and taken over the Los Angeles area with their super-swinging dance songs and their slip-sliding, electrified lap steel guitars and amplifiers.

These electrified guitars and amps were still new inventions, and good repairmen like Leo were hard to find.

Leo studied their schematics and searched their circuits like a detective looking for clues and connections. He quickly discovered that these instruments were easy to break and hard to fix. No one seemed to be building them with the musicians or repairmen in mind.

Leo thought he could do better."

And something more: Michael Mahin shares in the Author's Note: "As Fender expert Richard R. Smith has written, 'Given the role that music has played in American culture, it is not an exaggeration to say that Leo's instruments were engines of musical and social change, They bridged generations, races, cultures, and musical styles, bringing everyone in the world closer through music.'"

What Isabella Wanted

Isabella Stewart Gardner Builds a Museum

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Neal Porter Books

Holiday House Publishing

(pub.9.7.2021) 40 pages

Author: Candace Fleming

Illustrator: Matthew Cordell

Character: Isabella Stewart Gardner

Overview: "For years, the indomitable Isabella Stewart Gardner searched the world for magnificent artwork and filled her home with a truly unique collection, with the aim of turning it into a museum, which she established in 1903.

Isabella always did things her own way. One day she'd wear baseball gear to the symphony, the next, she'd be seen strolling down the street with zoo lions. It was no surprise that she was very particular about how she arranged her exhibits. They were not organized historically, stylistically, or by artist. Instead, they were arranged based on the connections Isabella felt toward the art, a connection she hoped to encourage in her visitors.

For years, her museum delighted generations of Bostonians and visitors with the collections arranged exactly as she wanted. But in 1990, a spectacular burglary occurred when two thieves disguised as police officers stole thirteen paintings, valued at $500 million, including a Rembrandt and a Vermeer. They have yet to be recovered, though a $10 million reward is still being offered for their safe return." Tantalizing taste:

"New Years Day, 1903. The grand opening.

Visitors circled around her courtyard,

and through her second- and third-floor rooms,

feasting on champagne, doughnuts,

and art -

so much art-

on every wall, on every space,

visitors lingering,

returning

wandering around and

among her objects in awe.

Isabella followed after them,

shouting,

'Don't touch! Don't touch!'

Didn't they know that everything

was carefully arranged,

exactly as Isabella wanted."

And something more: The back matter explains that "It's my pleasure" was her "motto. The words, written in French - "C'est mon plaisir' - are even carved above the entryway to the Italian style palazzo she built and filled with art...There she lived among the objects of her collection. Some of these objects are works of art, but others are things she gathered and used during her life - letters and journals, dishes and teacups, dried leaves and seashells. All are given equal value, great art displayed next to bric-a-brac with no distinction between them... they are all about Isabella and her connections to and feelings toward the art."

Niki Nakayama

A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

(pub.9.14.2021) 40 pages

Author: Jamie Michalak

& Debbi Michiko Florence

Illustrator: Yuko Jones

Character: Niki Nakayama

Overview: "As a child and adult, Niki faced many naysayers in her pursuit of haute cuisine. Using the structure of a traditional kaiseki meal, the authors Debbi Michiko Florence and Jamie Michalak playfully detail Niki's hunger for success in thirteen "bites" ― from wonton wrappers she used to make pizza as a kid to yuzu-tomatillo sauce in her own upscale Los Angeles Michelin-starred restaurant, n/naka.

To anyone who tells her a woman can't be a master chef, Niki lets her food do the talking. And oh, does it talk. Niki was featured on the first season of ... Chef's Table." Tantalizing taste:

"Next, she wanted to study kaiseki. Niki followed her heart back to Japan, back to her cousins' inn.

Bite 9

But as far as she knew, female kaiseki chefs didn't exist. In Japan, recipes and cooking techniques were handed down from fathers to sons, male mentors to male apprentices.

'You can't,' people told her.

I can, Niki thought.

She tended the garden. She saw snow for the first time. And she discovered how to tell nature's stories through her cooking.'

For three years, Niki watched. Niki learned."

And something more: The Kaiseki section at the back of the book explains: "Kaiseki was first served in sixteenth-century Japan at monastery tea ceremones. It began as a simple vegetarian meal. Over the centuries, it evolved into a feast of many courses, presented in a certain order for a variety of tastes and textures...

Now Chef Niki makes what she calls 'modern kaiseki,' taking the traditional Japanese culinary art form and interpreting it in her own way... Chef Niki loves that kaiseki is about more than just feeding people. At n/naka, she thanks each of her guests personally. 'Kaiseki is about bringing people together,' she says, 'and making people happy through food.'"