We can finally spill the beans! Disney will publish our second STEM picture book biography, PERKIN’S PURPLE. It’s the almost magical but totally true story of the boy who invented the chemistry that colored the world PURPLE! It will be in bookstores and libraries in 2020.
We fell in love with William Perkin, a teenaged boy who loved chemistry at a time when it was considered almost a form of witchcraft. Add in Queen Victoria, Empress Eugenie, velvet and silk… and the color purple! If that’s not enough– as an adult William found a primitive chemistry lab in his grandfather’s cottage cellar. William’s grandfather had been a real life alchemist!
William Perkin was responsible for the “invention of the method of invention,” changing the way all modern scientists think about problems then proceed to solve them. Today, one of the most prestigious prizes is chemistry is the Perkin Prize.
Perkin’s Purple will be illustrated by Francesca Sanna and published by Disney in 2020.