January 17: BEN FRANKLIN’S BIG SPLASH: THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF HIS FIRST INVENTION
Benjamin Franklin, inventor, scientist, statesman
b. January 17, 1706 (or January 6th)
d. April 17, 1790
BEN FRANKLIN’S BIG SPLASH: THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF HIS FIRST INVENTION
by Barb Rosenstock
illustrated by S.D. Schindler
Summary:
How can the son of a soap maker find success? While swimming of course!
Eleven year old Ben Franklin was determined to swim like a fish and he
didn’t mind making mistakes along the way. This is an alliterative,
“mostly true” story of Franklin’s first invention-swim fins-and ow Ben’s
curiosity lead to later innovations that changed the world.
There are many websites dedicated to Benjamin Franklin. Here are just a few:
The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary website
Trivia
bonus: Ben Franklin’s birth certificate shows he was born on January
6th. In 1752, England and the British colonies switched calendar
systems, advancing everyone’s age by eleven days.