- Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented by Tanya Lee Stone
ISBN 978-1-62779-168-7 $18.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 3-5
Stone excavates the layers of legend that surround the popular board game now trademarked as Monopoly, hitting paydirt with Lizzie Magie, who, well before the Great Depression, devised a board game she called the Landlord’s Game to amuse and educate adults on how housing monopolies always dealt tenants a losing hand. She patented her game, and although Parker Brothers was not interested, it began to circulate informally, morphing its complex rules and amending its game board along the way. With its roots obscured, the game was ripe for plucking by the out-of-work Charles Darrow, who refined it further, was rebuffed by Parker Brothers, and again sent it into informal circulation until PB noted the error of its ways and made an offer. The previous patent was discovered, Magie was bought off, Darrow took credit, PB made scads of money, and Monopoly became an ironic object lesson of sorts for everything Magie railed against. Stone is a deft hand at balancing historical absurdities with important social themes, and here her picture book format invites middle-grade readers to benefit from a lesson in entrepreneurship, [End Page 488] even as they enjoy amassing trivia surrounding a familiar game. Salerno’s retro illustrations recreate the milieu that Rich Uncle Pennybags called home but also include plenty of visual references to the game as it evolved. An author’s note and sources are included, and “Tremendous Trivia!” and “Monopoly Math” addenda extend the fun.