There are some authors who have the gift for entertaining their readers while they are educating them. That describes Meghan McCarthy, an author and illustrator of numerous non-fiction books for children.

One of McCarthy’s latest books is Earmuffs for Everyone: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs (Simon & Schuster, 2015). She describes the way people protected their ears from the cold throughout history. Along the way, the author infuses her story with other facts about inventors and inventions, including the work of Thomas Edison. Chester Greenwood employed many women in his factory, and this may be because his wife, Isabel, was active in getting women the right to vote.

Meghan McCarthy has written many other books that I enjoy sharing with children, among them are City Hawk: The Story of Pale Male (Simon & Schuster, 2007), Aliens Are Coming!: The True Account of the 1938 War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast (Knopf, 2006), Pop: The Invention of Bubble Gum (Simon & Schuster, 2010), and Daredevil: The Daring Life of Betty Skelton (Simon & Schuster, 2013).

The author’s website is interesting for children to explore. Meghan McCarthy produced this very homemade video about Earmuffs for Everyone!. It is actually a fine example of how she doesn’t take herself too seriously.