The House That Cleaned Itself: The True Story of Frances Gabe's (Mostly) Marvelous Invention

by Susan Romberg, Laura Dershewitz, Meghann Rader (Illustrations)

NSTA Best STEM Books Selection
Like most of us, Frances Gabe detested housework -- she found cleaning a "nerve-twangling bore". Unlike most of us, she invented a contraption to free herself from this tedious task a self-cleaning house! Gabe's wacky, wonderful home included almost 70 new patented inventions, from a soap-spraying sprinkler in the ceiling to a kitchen cabinet that washed, dried, and stored dishes all in one place. Though Gabe's invention didn't catch on, her determination and clever thinking remind us that we don't have to accept the world as it is; we can improve it using our minds and our own two hands.

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, Stem, Childrens, Science, History

40 pages, Hardcover

Published September 24, 2019

Reviews

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading children's non-fiction picture books about lesser-known people of the past. Frances Gabe's story is fascinating and this book is wonderful!

[O.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I think I wouldn't want to live in a house were I have to ware a raincoat. I loved her dishwashing method, her cloths washing method and a few other. I would totally get behind those! I applaud her for creating so many ingenious tools to ease her work load, and I hope this inspires others to be creative and go after their desires.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The House That Cleaned Itself: The True Story of Frances Gabe's (Mostly) Marvelous Invention is a children's picture book written by the team of Susan Romberg and Laura Dershewitz and illustrated by Meghann Rader. It is a biographical picture-book of an American Frances Gabe – a less-than-successful inventor who followed her dreams.

March, at least in my part of the world is Women's History Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.

Frances Gabe was an American artist and inventor perhaps most well known for designing and building the Self-Cleaning House in Newberg, Oregon. She built her own model for $15,000 and it was estimated to go on the market in 1984 for about $50,000. She gained international notoriety in the 1980s for the self-cleaning house.

The text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. This unusual biography, with chatty text has a distinctive focus and depicts the development of an idea that has not been embraced. Back matter includes an author’s note and a bibliography. Rader's illustrations are simple and has a retro-styled aspect that seems rather apropos to the times and target audience.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Frances Gabe hates doing housework – especially during a time when women were questioning their roles as homemakers, Frances wondered how she could create a house that would clean up after itself. Through innovative thinking, resilience, a feminist sensibility, and a touch of zaniness, Frances did succeed in making a house that washed itself, but despite the attention the house garnered, it was deemed impractical. Still, her enthusiasm, purpose, and originality shine through.

All in all, The House That Cleaned Itself: The True Story of Frances Gabe's (Mostly) Marvelous Invention is an interesting biographical children's picture book about a less than successful inventor, but at least she tried, which is also a good message.

[Reshamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes we need dreamers to dream big and give us ideas that we would never consider to pursue. This is such a tale. A non fiction biography of a woman who dreamt bold dreams of a house that could clean itself. And while there were some practical challenges in her ideas, Frances Gabe never gave up trying to improve upon her ideas. I love when we are able to talk about failures, even more when failures are celebrated and learned from. Pick this one to show your readers to put yourself out there and to think bold and big!

[Kathie Newsted · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful charming twist to the mundane chore of house cleaning! This delightful story about Frances Gabe and her " self-cleaning house" shows how she tackled the tiresome chore of housecleaning. It is written with gentle humor, and illustrated with whimsy....really a book for all ages. Don't miss the bibliographical description of the inventor herself. There is a YouTube video of her and the house (Milt Ritter KGW8 News) which is fun to see after reading the book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of Frances Gabe or her self cleaning house. I found this book interesting and engaging. I agree with the author that although the house might not have been completely practical, you have to admire the ingenuity and energy that went into creating it. Few of us would be willing to follow our dreams in that way.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This inspiring true story teaches kids an important life lesson - take action! Fail forward! And don’t rely on others to solve your problems for you. Beautifully illustrated and smartly written, this story centers on STEM themes and female empowerment. It’s a must read for all K-4th grade.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite a surprise, revealing a woman's odd but clever efforts over many decades to resolve the universal annoyance of keeping things cleaning that so quickly need to be cleaned- again and and again.

[Rachel Buonforte]

This is a story of how clever thinking and determination saved Frances Gabe from housework. She decided to invent a contraption to eliminate this tedious task forever! Frances created a self-cleaning house. Creating a house full of almost 70 different patented inventions to alleviate the dreadful task of cleaning. Although her inventions did not catch on, her determination reminds us that we do not need to always accept the world as it is. I chose this book because it was about someone I have never heard of. Her wacky home shows us that our minds can often improve our surroundings and that we can create ways to make our lives more adaptable to the world around us. I also really liked that she did not achieve great success, but she found a way to make her life work how she wanted it. A book I would connect this to is "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashley Spires. This book is about inventing something and the challenges that come along with creating something new. It would be a great way to show the process of an invention and how we must modify our ideas and make them work for our goal. A juicy quote I like from this book is "Now some people in this situation might have just grabbed a rag and stated scrubbing, not Frances. Oh no, not Frances! Sick of scrubbing, she did something about it." I chose this because it shows that she did not react to this problem as most have, she did something unique and different and found a new solution to her problem.

[Rebecca Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

The topic is interesting, but the writing is a little dry. And I would have liked it better if the illustrations showed a little more of how the house worked. It would have also been nice to know a little more about this woman besides her quirky invention.

[Jeimy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In theory, the idea of a self-cleaning house sounds great, but what Gabe created should be considered a prototype; version 1.0 if you will. I'm glad Gabe's story is out there in picture book form because it may inspire younger inventors to pick up the mantle and streamline Gabe's invention.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so we don’t have self-cleaning homes and certainly wouldn’t like to live with some of Frances Gabe’s inventions for keeping things clean, but it’s a great example of ingenuity and persistence!

[Norkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, would love to see the house actually be perfected.

[Robin]

What an intriguing biography!

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute picture book about a real person who created the first self cleaning house!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting picture book about a woman who invented a "self cleaning house". A strange topic (the house wasn't exactly successful) but a thought provoking story for kids interested in inventing.

[Shannon]

A quick (true story) kids book with a very similar title to an adult organzing book.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frances Gabe hated housework. So she invented a house that cleaned itself! A fascinating nonfiction narrative that celebrates innovation, persistence, and outside-the-box thinking.