09/02/2024

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. (Nov.)

Weatherford conveys the joyful obsession and dedication that fueled Simpson’s creative endeavors. Fotheringham’s cheerful, cartoonish illustrations capture the energy of Simpson’s work… This illuminating biography of a mechanic-turned-folk-artist brings his whirligigs to clanking, stirring life.”—Kirkus Reviews

"Offering an opportunity to appreciate the boundlessness of human creativity, [Whirligigs] is 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.” —Publishers Weekly

"The length of the text makes it an entertaining story for even young children, and the illustrations are colorful and whimsical. A wonderful addition to any library collection." —School Library Journal

“A whirligig, a wind-powered contraption often made out of random objects, is a thing of wonder… This engaging story moves along at a good clip, and the whimsical illustrations in bright primary colors effectively evoke energy and movement. This makes a great addition for STEAM collections”. – Booklist

09/01/2024

PreS-Gr 4—On a North Carolina farm, a young boy named (1919–2013) loved tinkering and fixing things; he grew up to become an inventor. He created a wind-powered washing machine, turned a bike into a motorcycle, and ran a machine repair shop. After getting injured in his 60s, Simpson needed a hobby and chose to turn spare parts and scrap metal into giant windmills. Eventually, his windmill-filled farm became a tourist attraction. Due to high demand, Simpson started making and selling mini windmills, which appeared at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and outside the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. When he grew too old to care for the windmills, the town bought 30 of them and placed them in a park named after him. Back matter includes an author's note, a bibliography, and a song that would be fun at a read-aloud. The length of the text makes it an entertaining story for even young children, and the illustrations are colorful and whimsical. VERDICT A wonderful addition to any library collection.—Kirsten Caldwell

2024-08-17
The ultimate “fix-it man” builds a mechanical, whimsical windmill farm.

As a child in North Carolina, Vollis Simpson (1919-2013) “was fixing things before he could read.” He joined the Army during World War II and created a wind-powered washing machine with parts from a B-29 bomber. Once home, he ran a machine-repair shop, where he continued to tinker into his 60s. After he closed the shop, a dream inspired him to create a series of unusual mechanical windmills using scrap metal, gears, and chains—towers that “turned and whizzed.” Vollis constructed animals, airplanes, and guitar players to inhabit his towers, using junk like bike wheels, broken silverware, mirrors, and chimes. His colorful machines—whirligigs—attracted tourists and schoolchildren, and when Simpson’s health prevented him from maintaining his “noisemaking mechanical marvels,” they were moved to different sites, including the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Weatherford conveys the joyful obsession and dedication that fueled Simpson’s creative endeavors. Fotheringham’s cheerful, cartoonish illustrations capture the energy of Simpson’s work, with busy images piling one on top of the other, replicating pinwheel shapes, fast-moving action lines and dots, and splashes of onomatopoeic words likethud,thonk, andboing, boing. Today, according to Weatherford’s author note, Simpson’s whirligigs sit in a North Carolina park dedicated to his work. Simpson is white; other characters are pictured with a variety of skin tones.

This illuminating biography of a mechanic-turned-folk-artist brings his whirligigs to clanking, stirring life. (author’s note, bibliography, archival photos, song lyrics for “Vollis Simpson’s Windmill Farm”)(Picture-book biography. 7-10)