The Day-Glo brothers

The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors by Chris Barton

So how would you illustrate a book about the two brothers who invented day-glo paint? But of course. And, boy, are day-glo colors effective in the telling of this story and its illustration.

Bob and Joe Switzer never set out to be inventors. Joe wanted to be a magician. Bob wanted to be a doctor. They did not realize their dreams, but a greater future lay ahead of them; they gained fame as the inventors of day-glo paint.

The story of the two brothers is a serendipitous tale of how inventors invent, of how one thing unexpectedly leads to another, of how dreams are realized even when one thinks they have been traveling down the wrong path.

I love how the illustrator used just a bit of day-glo here and there to make a point. Beautiful and fun.

Just a bit:

“After Joe got married in 1938, he and his wife, Elise, moved into a run-down old farmhouse so he would have room for his own laboratory. It wasn't the best place for a young family, as their baby boy liked to chew on chemical-splattered shoes.”