Whirligigs - by Carole Boston Weatherford (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Vollis Simpson was a man with a curious mind--always eager to know how things worked and how to fix them. Growing up on a farm in North Carolina, he loved to tinker with machines. And when he served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, Vollis kept right on tinkering. His ingenuity allowed him to build things no one would have thought to create from scraps--a washing machine out of airplane parts and a motorcycle out of a bike. After the war, his passion for metal creations picked up speed--turning into a whirlwind of windmills as far as the eye could see. Luckily, Vollis's fanciful and colorful windmills have been preserved at a park in Wilson, NC, where visitors can behold his magnificent and towering creations forever whizzing in the air" --

Book Synopsis

2025 Best STEM Book Winner
2025 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts

Take a journey through the creative process that led folk artist Vollis Simpson to create his wonderful and whimsical wind-powered whirligigs and more in this STEAM/STEM picture book written by Children's Literature Legacy Award winner Carole Boston Weatherford.

Vollis Simpson was a man with a curious mind--always eager to know how things worked and how to fix them. Growing up on a farm in North Carolina, he loved to tinker with machines. And when he served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, Vollis kept right on tinkering. His ingenuity allowed him to build things no one would have thought to create from scraps--a washing machine out of airplane parts and a motorcycle out of a bike.

After the war, his passion for metal creations picked up speed--turning into a whirlwind of windmills as far as the eye could see. Luckily, Vollis's fanciful and colorful windmills have been preserved at a park in Wilson, NC, where visitors can behold his magnificent and towering creations forever whizzing in the air.

Review Quotes

A NSTA-CBC Best STEM Book
2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List

"Weatherford conveys the joyful obsession and dedication that fueled Simpson's creative endeavors. Fotheringham's cheerful, cartoonish illustrations capture the energy of Simpson's work... This illuminating biography of a mechanic-turned-folk-artist brings his whirligigs to clanking, stirring life."--Kirkus Reviews

"Offering an opportunity to appreciate the boundlessness of human creativity, [Whirligigs] is a story about a figure who refused to call himself an artist, saying what mattered most was to 'wake up every day and have to do something with my hands.'" --Publishers Weekly

"The length of the text makes it an entertaining story for even young children, and the illustrations are colorful and whimsical. A wonderful addition to any library collection." --School Library Journal

"A whirligig, a wind-powered contraption often made out of random objects, is a thing of wonder... This engaging story moves along at a good clip, and the whimsical illustrations in bright primary colors effectively evoke energy and movement. This makes a great addition for STEAM collections".--Booklist

"At the opening of this picture-book biography, a tangle of colors and shapes and a burst of visual onomatopoeia ('WHIRR, CREEEAK. Plink, plink') introduce readers to the plucky machinist and inventor Vollis Simpson (1919-2013) and his 'whirligigs'... color and sound ("Whistle, Whir, BOING, BOING") keep the story energetic and busy to match the spirit of its subject, and the illustrations become ever more fanciful as Simpson's windmill farm grows. Back matter includes an author's note, a bibliography, and the lyrics to 'Vollis Simpson's Windmill Farm' (to the tune of 'Old MacDonald)."--The Horn Book

"Kids will love reading about (Vollis Simpson), and the book is full of color and excitement for his creations. The digital art puts the giant, boldly colored contraptions front and center and the descriptive text incorporates onomatopoeia and even a song. An author's note, bibliography and photos augment the text. This would be a fun read aloud for early grade art classes. Kids will learn that creativity can happen at any age and with any materials."--Youth Services Book Review

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Carole Boston Weatherford's 60-plus books include the Caldecott Honor book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, for which she was also awarded the Coretta Scott King Author Award and a Sibert Honor; the Newbery Honor winner Box; and the Caldecott Honor winners Freedom in Congo Square, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Moses. She won a Coretta Scott King Author Honor for Becoming Billie Holiday. Weatherford teaches composition and children's literature at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.

Edwin Fotheringham is the award-winning illustrator of many picture book biographies, including Full of Beans, Blue Grass Boy, and Dazzlin' Dolly. His work has received the Parents' Choice Gold Award, been named an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book, and more. He is also the illustrator of the Tony Baloney series by Pam Muñoz Ryan.