Earmuffs for Everyone!: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs

by Meghan Mccarthy

As a young boy, Chester Greenwood went from having cold ears to becoming a great inventor in this nonfiction picture book from the acclaimed author-illustrator of Pop! and Daredevil .

When your ears are cold, you can wear earmuffs, but that wasn’t true for Chester Greenwood back in 1873. Earmuffs didn’t exist yet! But during yet another long and cold Maine winter, Chester decided to do something about his freezing ears, and he designed the first pair of ear protectors (a.k.a. earmuffs) out of wire, beaver fur, and cloth. He received a patent for his design by the time he was nineteen, and within a decade the Chester Greenwood & Company factory was producing and shipping “Champion Ear Protectors” worldwide!

But that was just the beginning of Chester’s career as a successful businessman and prolific inventor. In this fun and fact-filled picture book you can find out all about his other clever creations. The Smithsonian has declared Chester Greenwood one of America’s most outstanding inventors. And if you’re ever in Maine on December 21, be sure to don a pair of earmuffs and celebrate Chester Greenwood day!

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Childrens, Biography Memoir, Juvenile

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 6, 2015

About the author

Children's book author of many wonderful fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, including the below following. Meghan's books have won the IRA-CBC Children's Choice, ALA Notable, Kirkus Reviews Reviewer's Choice, Booklist Best Books, NYPL 100 Best Books, SLJ Best Books, and so on. Blah blah blah, what Meghan really wants to do is drive really fast and jump in really long grass until she gets grass stains. She'd prefer to remain child-like because children don't have to pay bills.

The Wall Street Journal described Meghan’s art as “goofy yet somehow dignified.” Meghan is much the same way. By the age of 40 she plans to wear a boa at all times and on all occasions.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children’s authors find the most unusual and interesting things to write about! Who knew the story of earmuffs? I’d never heard of Chester Greenwood until I read this book. If all the inventors of earmuffs before Chester didn’t have a way to keep them snug on your head, then as far as I’m concerned, Chester is the true inventor. To think they celebrate him with his own day in Maine! I also liked the way McCarthy included information about the patenting process, which costs a lot more than I thought it did. She also introduced the important idea that inventions can be improved upon, and that those improvements are patentable. I loved this unusual book and the cute way everyone smiles in the illustrations. Recommended winter reading for earmuff wearers (like me) everywhere!

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I found the information fascinating and the illustrations engaging, I thought the organization of this book was strange. Jumping from Chester Greenwood's story to the history of inventing and patents, then back to Chester again was confusing. Great book for introducing kids to the subject.

[Katya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A truly interesting title, more about patents, pop history, and entrepreneurship than earmuffs. Fun facts and goofy illustrations tell an unusual story, with quite a bit more nuance than the usual 'Edison invented the electric light' tale.

When it's on point, this book is terrific, and the central story is very well told. Would be a great book to use as a teaching tool about anything from capitalism to revisionist history (or earmuffs!).

3.5 stars and a few concerns. First of all, I'm simply too immature to read the first spread, which includes speech bubbles such as: "I can't [dance with you] until you take your hands out of that giant muff." Secondly, and more importantly, there's a reference to rubber dress guards (ladies' underarm sweat protectors) that takes an oddly disgusted tone: "...protected ladies' clothing from sweat. Ew!" and expresses surprise that the product is still available. Why is the 'feminine hygeine' product singled out for nose-wrinkling? Ears are gross too, if it comes to that.

There's also a spread about Chester's wife's activities as a suffragette which, while interesting, feels a bit shoehorned in. I'm for it anyway, as the book is full of interesting sidenotes as a style choice, but wish it didn't end with 'Perhaps that's why Chester employed so many women at his factory.' Points for effort on this one, though.

Contains interesting back matter about both the author's journey to make the book and bibliography.

[Debrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Describes, accompanied by cartoonish pictures, how Chester Greenwood improved upon earlier earmuff designs and got lodged in history as the inventor of earmuffs. I found the more explanatory-type pictures confusing and the story rather meandering. (I would have found it helpful to make the framing, suggested in the book's subtitle, more explicit in the text: this is not the story of the invention or even refinement of earmuffs, but of how Greenwood *became known as their inventor*.) (Also, when I got to the earmuff parade picture, I thought, Aha! Surely the Chester Greenwood parade was the seminal suggestion for this book. So maybe it would have been cool, since the author has chosen a style of describing her thought process, to have started by saying right out, "I saw this wacky parade and I wondered who this guy was and how he got famous, and then I did some detective work." Instead of saving that for the end notes.) Read for library book group.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute picture book account of invention/innovation, patents, and how legends begin.

Picked it up as a potential school outreach book, but ultimately decided that the story was too slight/sophisticated to feature in that context. Slight in that the illustrations are really cartoony and young-looking, and some pages only have a sentence or two on them. Sophisticated in that they're explaining some really complicated stuff that I'm not sure the kids would be independently motivated to read about.

Maybe better for classroom use?

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being from Maine, I really wanted to like this book more than I did.

It's the story of Chester Greenwood, who is credited as the inventor of the earmuffs. As this book discusses, he wasn't actually the first person to come up with the idea, but he holds the patent, and is responsible for improving the design enough to make them what they are today.

It's a good story, I just don't think it's told well for its audience. The age range says 4-8, but my 4-year-old totally lost interest the first time I tried reading this to him, which doesn't happen often, and he often enjoys picture books that are aimed at older age ranges.

I think one of the reasons for this is that the book tries to tackle way too many subjects in such a small space. I don't know whether this is because very little is actually known about Greenwood's life, or whether the main narrative requires a lot of extraneous information in order to make sense, but either way, the result is the same.

We're given information on the patent process, a couple pages on what "muffs" are, historically (which does seem interesting and relevant); a double page on the women's suffrage movement, which is of course important but has little bearing on the rest of the story; another double page about Thomas Edison and the fact that he didn't invent a light bulb but made the existing design better; a double page sharing one of the "wicked yarns" told about Chester Greenwood's work ethic, a page about how "Chester Greenwood Day" did in the Maine legislature.... etc. etc. All interesting stuff, but so scattered over time and subject matter that I don't think Chester Greenwood alone is enough to hold everything together, from a young child's perspective.

I can't speak for the average 8-year-old, but this is just too broad a scope for most children who are just barely starting school.

I also thought there were several times that things were interjected into the text in an attempt to be "funny," but mostly fell flat.

It's too bad -- I mean, *I* enjoyed it well enough, but I'm 30. I was able to just summarize some of the pages to keep my kids interested in the main story, so that's good, but I wish it had been better.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chester Greenwood is credited with being the inventor of the earmuffs. The story goes that he was a boy with big ears that were sensitive to cold so he had his grandmother create him a pair of earmuffs from wire and cloth. However, the author also shows that earmuffs were actually invented before Greenwood was even born. He did however get a patent himself at age 19 for ear-mufflers. Chester had a great business sense too, one that he honed even as a boy. He also invented other things besides ear-mufflers, designing new features into kettles and rakes and even creating a portable house. It was an article in Life Magazine in the 1930s that credited Greenwood with the invention and that continued into the 1970s when there was a day named after him in Maine that continues to be celebrated today.

McCarthy immediately invites readers into the earmuff mystery, showing the early patents by others and then turning to Greenwood. Readers will see how convoluted stories can become in history, how distorted credit for inventions can be, and also how hard it can be to piece together the truth fully once again. It is to McCarthy’s credit that her focus is on more than the inventor but also on the others in history and the patent process. Don’t miss her notes at the end which detail even more fully her search for the truth about earmuffs.

McCarthy populates her books with friendly characters with big googly eyes. Her paintings are fresh and colorful. They range from double-page spreads to smaller images on the page. All of them exude a cheery feeling and invite readers to explore.

This nonfiction picture book embraces the complexity of the past and demonstrates the search for the truth behind an everyday object. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

[Marjorie Ingall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boo hoo, the first Meghan McCarthy book that didn't work for me. I like the idea of a book about the guy everyone THINKS invented earmuffs, but didn't. Chester Greenwood was the Thomas Edison of earmuffs, improving a design someone else came up with and getting all the credit. Maybe this book would have worked as a dual biography of the dude who DID invent earmuffs (McCarthy seems to have found him) and the guy who improved them, hustled more and promoted them better. Or maybe this could have been a collective bio of a lot of people who didn't get credit for their inventions. Or a close look at how you get a patent. Or even the story behind the story: maybe McCarthy could have turned the afterword -- about the author's frustrating efforts to corral this story -- into the actual book, and made it a book about researching and writing non-fiction for kids.

What we get instead is kind of a sprawl. The book doesn't really answer the title question. How did ol' Chet become known as the inventor of earmuffs? McCarthy can only hypothesize. Her main character doesn't come alive. The patent office is not inherently fascinating. We know pretty much nothing about the actual inventor of earmuffs beyond his name and the fact that he lived in New York. The art, as ever, is adorable, and one of my kids went through an earmuffs-adoring period when she was five or six and I'm sure she would've enjoyed this. So I guess I'm saying this is for earmuffs-obsessives only.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I love Meghan McCarthy's Earmuffs for Everyone! story about Chester Greenwood and other inventors responsible for inventing earmuffs and other inventions, it is her message of the meticulous research process she uses in order to write her story so convincingly that will teach readers about the key to effective research. Kids will be surprised when she explains that all the facts about the true inventor of earmuffs are impossible to find. Yet she explains her approach to coming up with her topic for her story in such a fun way, readers will be inspired to use a similar approach when they write non-fiction narrative stories. Her wonderful simple,colorful yet powerful illustrations in acrylic paint are so expressive and effective, they make the story come alive with joyous momentum. This is a perfect title for introducing non-fiction writing to elementary students.

[Abby Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, upon first glance, this looks like a book about the guy who invented earmuffs. Fun! And it is that. But it's so much more. What makes this book truly special is McCarthy's discussions about the nature of invention and her reflections on why history remembers some and forgets others. The subtitle says it all: Chester Greenwood became known as the inventor of earmuffs, but his actual patent is for "improvement" on ear mufflers. Yet, although Greenwood "only" made useful improvements to inventions that already existed, history remembers him as the inventor of earmuffs, so much so that Maine celebrates Chester Greenwood Day!

This would be a great addition to units on invention or history - it's sure to spark a discussion of who is remembered in history and who is not, and how we find that out.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming tale about the "inventor" of earmuffs. Tells an interesting story with cute illustrations, and teaches almost as much about how stories grow with the telling (other earmuff inventors, running to the factory at 4am) as about Chester Greenwood himself.
Nice notes at the back about doing research.
I was *not* pleased at the blanket statement "Wikipedia is not a reliable source." The facts are a lot more nuanced than that, and such statements are the reason we get kids in the library whose teachers refuse to allow them to use our online resources because "they're on the internet." A few sentences explaining why open-source sites should be used with caution and judgment would have done students and teachers so much more good!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource to teach kids about researching completely before writing informational/non-fiction. Chester Greenwood is known - and celebrated - as the INVENTOR OF THE EARMUFF. But his is not, not at all. In these 40 pages we learn a little about Chester Greenwood and his life, about the history of earmuffs, about how history became "changed," about inventions and getting a patent for them, and then, by reading the excellent 2-page afterword ("A Note about This Book), how much research went into correctly chronicling this history. Includes extensive bibliography and acknowledgements.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect in so many ways. Entertaining, factual, interesting, lively. Rereadable. Inspiring. Better than fiction, includes details of MC's life as well as contemporary historical detail, information on other inventions, the patent process, and an earmuff holiday.

[Carrie Gelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The organization of the book bothered me. Okay.

[Mary Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but the organization made this very hard to follow for me.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before you know it, the cold winds will blow and make your ears quite uncomfortable. This fascinating picture book biography tells the story of Chester Greenwood, the man widely credited with inventing the earmuffs. Using kid-friendly text and cute illustrations, this book explains that while Greenwood didn't actually invent this important cold-weather ear protector, he greatly improved what was available and patented his ideas. This book is great for helping young readers understand how inventors work and the patent process. This would be a good nonfiction resource for kids participating in their schools' invention convention and for those that want a better understanding of what they see on shows like Shark Tank.

[Amanda Shreve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary
Ever wonder whose idea it was to wear fur on their ears to keep them warm in the winter? This book is the story of Chester Greenwood the inventor of Earmuffs. Starting at age ten this book walks you through his life and how he invented a way to keep your ears warm in winter!
Evaluation
This book takes you on a journey of Chester Greenwood's life. The pictures and unique placement of text engage the reader throughout the entire story.
Teaching Point
I would use this book when introducing inventors and the process of creating new things. This shows that even at young ages their ideas are important.

[Leslie Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book about the man who patented an improvement on earmuffs, though he has been called the inventor of earmuffs despite other designs being patented before his. I really enjoyed the information at the end of the book regarding the patent process. The book has cute illustrations that will entertain children while providing information about an inventor whose inventions are still being used today.

[Aileen Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy, tells the story of how Chester Greenwood became known as the inventor of earmuffs. I learned that many credited inventors did not actually invent the items they were credited with, but in actuality, merely improve them. This book is treasure trove of information with funny complimentary illustrations. It also included mentions of other inventions, famous improvers, and even women's rights.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this an interesting history of a well-loved but often taken-for-granted product, this book shows how no invention comes from nothing. Before the successfully marketed invention, there are the early versions and prototypes built by other people. And before that, there were ideas, designs and drawings. This book addresses the issue of who should get "credit." Everyone deserves some of the credit. Plus, we can debate who deserves the "most" credit.

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read! Rather than being a story of the invention of earmuffs - which could be short - the author covers several topics - patents, improvements of inventions, marketing, the reliability of historical records, importance of being remembered. Rather than abandoning the topic when faced with some factual challenges about the invention of the earmuff, the book expanded into wider topics including young inventors and women’s suffrage. A fun romp!

[Susan Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I enjoy Meghan McCarthy’s books, but this one just seemed a little disjointed to me. I almost wish she’d focused solely on the patent office, rather than stretching out a book about earmuffs. But I do like sharing her books with kids. (Library)

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a book about inventing and the patent process (and what a patent is) than really just about earmuffs.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Meghan Mccarthy's non fiction picture books. They are such unique and interesting tidbits of history that are really fun to read. The illustrations are cute and work well with her stories.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

this picture book biography traces the life of the earmuff and the man who is most famous for inventing them. elementary

[Rebecca Caufman · Rating 2 out of 5]

While educational, a bit of a confusing read. The story jumps around a lot.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting info, but it felt a bit all over the place to me.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting story of the patent of the earmuff, but the story digresses quite a bit.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is interesting but the author's note at the end is even better! Such a cool thing to investigate! The art is also really fun.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read! I love how the author addresses inaccuracies she found in her research.