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by Alexis O'Neill (Author), Edwin Fotheringham (Illustrator)
Who was Melvil Dewey? Learn how Dewey's love of organization and words drove him to develop and implement his Dewey Decimal system, leaving a significant and lasting impact in libraries across the country.
When Melvil Dewey realized every library organized their books differently, he wondered if he could invent a system all libraries could use to organize them efficiently. A rat-a-tat speaker, Melvil was a persistent (and noisy) advocate for free public libraries. And while he made enemies along the way as he pushed for changes-like his battle to establish the first library school with women as students, through it all he was EFFICIENT, INVENTIVE, and often ANNOYING as he made big changes in the world of public libraries-changes still found in the libraries of today!Author Biography
Alexis O'Neill is the author of picture book biographies about people who made an impact on the world such as Homan Walsh (The Kite That Bridged Two Nations), Jacob Riis (Jacob Riis's Camera), and Melvil Dewey (The Efficient, Inventive (Often Annoying) Melvil Dewey) as well as books about friendship such as in The Recess Queen, and others. In addition to writing books for kids, she is an instructor for the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. The California Reading Association awarded Alexis the Dr. Marcus Foster Memorial Award for making significant and outstanding contributions to reading throughout California. She lives in southern California with her husband and can be reached at alexisoneill.com.
Edwin Fotheringham is the award-winning illustrator of many picture book biographies, including Full of Beans, Blue Grass Boy, What to Do About Alice?, and Those Rebels, John & Tom. He is also the illustrator of the "Tony Baloney" series by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Visit edfotheringham.com.
