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Title details for Whirligigs by Carole Boston Weatherford - Available

Whirligigs

The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination

by Carole Boston Weatherford
Edwin Fotheringham
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Vollis Simpson always needed to know how things worked and could fix just about anything. Even before he could read, Vollis could be found tinkering on his family's North Carolina farm. And when he served in the army air corps during WWII, Vollis kept right on tinkering—building a washing machine out of airplane parts and a motorcycle out of a bike.
Building things from metal scraps never really left him after he returned home from the war and even after working at his machine-repair shop. His passion for metal creations actually picked up speed—turning into a whirlwind of windmills as far as the eye could see. Luckily Vollis's fanciful and colorful windmills have been preserved at a park where visitors can behold his magnificent and towering creations forever whizzing in the air.
"Whirligigs captures the joy and magic of these amazing kinetic creations on paper—where kids of all ages can marvel at the imaginative genius and artistic vision of Vollis Simpson. Hopefully it will inspire your own creativity and you will visit our park and museum to see them move and twirl for yourself!"—The Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park & Museum Board of Directors and Staff

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 12, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798894861548
      • File size: 4812 KB
      • Duration: 00:10:01

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 2, 2024
      Vollis Simpson (1919–2013) grew up on a North Carolina farm “fixing things before he could read,” writes Boston Weatherford. When an injury in his 60s forced him to close his successful machine-repair shop, he was as “bored as a two-by-four,” until his next chapter came to him in a dream. He would create whirligigs—kinetic, windmill-like sculptures fashioned from scrap and salvaged material. Digital art by Fotheringham conveys the giddy feel of an amusement park or funhouse to images of the inventions, which pop with playful textures, candy colors, and punctuations of onomatopoeia (“BANG, BONK, THUD, THONK”). Lauded by schoolchildren, tourists, and visionary
      art connoisseurs alike, the whirligigs today live in an outdoor gallery. Offering an opportunity to appreciate the boundlessness of human creativity, it’s a story about a figure who refused to call himself an artist, saying what mattered most was to “wake up every day and have to do something with my hands.” Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note and photographs conclude. Ages 7–10.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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