Dr. Welch and the Great Grape Story

It never would have occurred to me that grape juice had not always been available since wine has been around since Noah, but this story tells the quest for Dr. Welch's grape drink that most of us take for granted. You'll never endure another commercial by Larry King (for Welch's Grape Juice) without thinking of this book! It would be an interesting classroom introduction to researching where various products we now take for granted actually originated; kids in middle school might even be inclined to write their own picture books and illustrate them as part of a learning unit.

Sherry Meidell provides realistic and fun drawings to accompany an unusual biographical topic: the story of Dr. Welch's invention of the grape drink. His idea for a new, non-alcoholic sweet drink was to create an industry and his times and life receive colorful embellishment in a fine picturebook biography written specifically for young readers.

How often do you suppose folks simply say, "Please pass the Welch's" rather than asking for the jam, jelly or juice? Frequently, I'd suppose because the Welch products have become so much a part of our culture, very much like "Kleenex" or "Coke." Surely in 1869 Thomas Bramwell Welch had no idea that some day a company bearing his name would be the world's leading producer of grape products. Mary Lou Carney focuses on a small part of the good doctor's life - specifically when he began to think that grapes could be used to make a sweet drink. After all, he reasoned, grapes were used to make wine, why not a soft drink? It took a bit of experimentation and a lot of work, but he was right. His story is told in highly readable fashion, and accompanied by charming period watercolor illustrations. - Gail Cooke