Mr. Blue Jeans: A Story about Levi Strauss

Reviewed by Anneliese Buenker (age 9) for Reader Views (12/07) "Mr. Blue Jeans" is a book about how Levi Strauss came to America and what he did when he got here. Levi came from Buttenhiem, which is a town in the Bavarian Alps near the border between Germany and Austria. When Levi Strauss was 18-years old, he convinced his mother and sisters to leave their home to go to America. They sailed on a ship for 48 days and arrived in New York City. Once Levi was in New York City, he met up with his brothers and continued in his trade of selling dry goods. Then he moved out of New York City and went to Kentucky and then to San Francisco. In San Francisco, Levi started his blue jean company which is now the most popular blue jean company in the U. S. I think that "Mr. Blue Jeans: A Story about Levi Strauss" was very informative and interesting. Levi Strauss was a very nice and polite man who came all the way from Bavaria to San Francisco and along the way gave us blue jeans as we know them.

Sure, it's a biography, but try to stifle your yawn. The story of Levi Strauss and his famous riveted pants is filled with interesting facts. We learn that Strauss carried 180 pounds of merchandise on his back as he peddled his goods on foot from town to town. In addition to the details of this success story, readers are introduced to American life in the mid-1800s. Ocean travel, the California gold rush, and the great San Francisco earthquake of 1868 are integral parts of Strauss' story. Consider this one for the inevitable book reports that will be coming due.

I myself enjoyed the book. The book makes for easy reading and it gives you a deeper look at Levi, but not too deep that it will start to bore a child. I believe it would be perfect for a student in the 4th grade because it ties into the Gold Rush era, which they are studying.

It was a fun, exciting short storybook. We laugh and talked about interesting parts of his life and what he went through to get here. We were studying immigration at the time of our reading. Very good book. I encourage you to read it!!