The Boy Who Invented the Popsicle: The Cool Science Behind Frank Epperson's Famous Frozen Treat

by Anne Renaud

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations
30	8	798,222	(4.11)	None
"A curious child who always knew he wanted to be an inventor when he grew up, Frank spent much of his youth experimenting in his basement laboratory -- mixing and measuring, testing and inspecting, studying and scrutinizing. One of his favorite things to experiment with was soda water, and one day after discovering the perfect flavoring for his most recent invention, he left it outside on his back porch with a spoon in it. The next morning, the drink had frozen solid -- he had invented a frozen treat. It wasn't until he was an adult that Frank decided to market his invention. At first, he called it the "Ep-sicle," but with his nine children constantly begging, "Pop, can we have a 'sicle"?" he changed the name to the Popsicle. The science experiments that young Frank performs in the story are interweaved throughout the narrative, so readers can experiment right along with him. At the end of the book are additional historical notes about Frank and his invention, along with photos and a bibliography."--… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

ASKier, Caralen, ltfl_isblib, RLNunezKPL, kerribrary, Mel-Mel, salemjaxschool, MrsAlvarado, Daniels4Sasha

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Lists

None

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)

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

fernandie | Sep 15, 2022 |

This is a great book where the reader is able to learn about how a famous summer treat was created. Frank was a boy that enjoyed inventing and experimenting. One day, he wondered what would happen if he left his drink outside over night. The next day he realized he had invented a frozen drink on a stick. As he grew older, he was able to turn that invention into something great that every child and adult could share on a hot summer day. This story may motivate a child to not be afraid to try new things and they never know what results they may get. (

)

rdelarca | Mar 16, 2020 |

Frank Epperson was an avid inventor starting at a very young age. He was a curious child who wasn’t afraid to ask questions and think outside of the box. He went on to become the inventor of a sweet treat that we all love, popsicles! The illustrations in the book are very appealing and are what drew me to pick this book to begin with. There are experiments/activities that can be done with elementary students in a classroom or with kids at home spread throughout the book. I do think that this book was lacking in some ways. While there were some interesting parts to the story, I found that it didn’t really grab my attention. I found the writing to be a little dull and found my mind wandering while reading. I would not read this book again, unless I wanted to incorporate some of the activities in a science lesson. (

)

BobbieHenriques | Jan 22, 2020 |

This story is written about Francis (Frank) William Epperson, who is the inventor of the Popsicle. Frank as depicted in the book shows a strong interest in inventing things from a young age, he would always try to build different type of contraptions, but one day he started making flavored drinks. The story depicts frank a young child who then out of curiosity wonders what these tasty treats would taste like frozen. When he froze the drinks, is when he invented the popsicle. I love how the author depicts a child who discovers this treat out of curiosity and it sends a message to kids that, even they could come up with something out of no where and make it big. (

)

D.Patzan | Nov 12, 2019 |

Frank was a boy who liked to invent things. He especially liked to experiment with sweet fizzy drinks. By accident, he invented something sweet but it was not fizzy nor was it a drink.
This picture book biography makes a great read aloud for Kindergarten through 3rd graders. The experiments contained within the story would make a fun program or science lessons. This is a great title to add to a STEM collection for young readers. (

)

SWONclear | Nov 9, 2019 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

▾Series and work relationships

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Great Kids Can Read Award (Nominee – 2022)

Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee – Grades K-3 – 2022)

Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award (Nominee – 2021)

Notable Lists

Horned Toad Tales (2021)

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

"A curious child who always knew he wanted to be an inventor when he grew up, Frank spent much of his youth experimenting in his basement laboratory -- mixing and measuring, testing and inspecting, studying and scrutinizing. One of his favorite things to experiment with was soda water, and one day after discovering the perfect flavoring for his most recent invention, he left it outside on his back porch with a spoon in it. The next morning, the drink had frozen solid -- he had invented a frozen treat. It wasn't until he was an adult that Frank decided to market his invention. At first, he called it the "Ep-sicle," but with his nine children constantly begging, "Pop, can we have a 'sicle"?" he changed the name to the Popsicle. The science experiments that young Frank performs in the story are interweaved throughout the narrative, so readers can experiment right along with him. At the end of the book are additional historical notes about Frank and his invention, along with photos and a bibliography."--

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary