Gizmos, Gadgets, and Guitars: The Story of Leo Fender

by Michael Mahin (Author) Steven Salerno (Illustrator)

Gizmos, Gadgets, and Guitars: The Story of Leo Fender
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

The picture book biography of ingenious American inventor Leo Fender, creator of the world's most iconic Fender electric guitars.

For readers who love Iggy Peck, Architect. 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. 

Select format:
Hardcover
$19.99

Kirkus

An engaging mix of biography, social-emotional skills, the development of a musical instrument, and the STEM process.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-5--Mahin and Salerno present the life of Leo Fender, the fix-it man who revolutionized the solid-body guitar and built an empire of affordable musical equipment. Leo's story begins in the early 20th century on his family farm, where he explored his love of building and fixing machinery. After straying from a traditional career path during the Depression, he opened a repair shop where he not only fixed instruments but built them. From musicians' feedback (and their desire for less feedback when playing amplified hollow bodies), he developed what is now the standard in rock music: the solid-body electric guitar. This wasn't without trial and error, and in his perseverance Fender clearly demonstrated STEAM habits of mind. This biography is well researched and masterfully told. Children will enjoy reading about Fender's unusual journey, especially with the clever tidbits, peculiar vocabulary, and subtle alliteration that make Mahin a fantastic storyteller. Salerno's classic Americana illustrations in crayons, ink, gouache, and pastel bring to mind illustrative versions of Norman Rockwell stills, with postures that show as much as the facial expressions. Leo is white, with a mop of curly brown hair and round glasses. Inner workings of the instruments and machinery are finely detailed, and blueprint drawings make up the endpapers. VERDICT While Fender may not be a household name, his story will inspire future musicians and inventors. Recommended for children's biography collections, especially those seeking to incorporate the arts into STEAM. Compare with Kim Tomsic's Guitar Genius, the story of Fender's contemporary, Les Paul.--Clara Hendricks, Cambridge P.L., MA

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

This engrossing biography follows Leo Fender (1909-1991), who loves tinkering so much that he runs a radio repair business in high school and, following the loss of his accountant job during the Great Depression, establishes an electronics repair shop in California. Discovering that the newly invented electric guitars are "easy to break and hard to fix," Fender decides to make his own and, though he's not a musician, invents the iconic solid-body electric guitar. Mahin employs repetition, alliteration, and wordplay: "Western swing bands had cowboyed their way across the country and taken over the Los Angeles area." Salerno's multimedia illustrations, arranged and colored digitally, have a detailed, appealingly sketched vintage aesthetic. Young inventors in particular will find this well-paced account absorbing, though anyone with passions to pursue will find Fender's mettle inspiring. Back matter includes an author's note with additional biographical information, a bibliography, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary. Ages 5-9. (Aug.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Michael Mahin
Michael Mahin has loved music since his grandmother gave him his first piano lesson at the age of five. Like Carlos Santana, he believes that music fills the world with magic and love and feeling and healing. He is the author of Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters and enjoys writing books about people who use their creativity to make the world a better place. He lives in San Diego, California, with his wife, two kids, and several guitars he wishes he played better. Visit him at MichaelMahin.com.

Evan Turk is an Ezra Jack Keats Award-winning illustrator, author, and animator. He is the author-illustrator of The Storyteller, Heartbeat, You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks, A Thousand Glass Flowers, and Hello, Moon and the illustrator of Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book; The People's Painter; Grandfather Gandhi; and its companion Be the Change. Originally from Colorado, Evan now lives in southern California with his husband and two cats. He is a graduate of Parsons School of Design. Visit him at EvanTurk.com.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781250251862
Lexile Measure
840
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Henry Holt & Company
Publication date
September 20, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007040 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Music
JNF007090 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Science & Technology
JNF061010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Technology | Inventions
JNF051120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Technology | How Things Work/Are Made
JNF036090 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Music | Instruments
Library of Congress categories
History
Biographies
United States
Electric guitar
Electric guitar makers
Fender, Leo
Fender guitar

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!