Sara Ware Bassett was a prolific writer in the early to mid-1900s. Among her fictional titles she also wrote nonfiction educational works that were intended to educate young people about common things and how they worked. Among these is The Story of Glass.
The bookbegins and ends in America, but also travels through Venice, Italy, where the main characters meet an English-speaking guide named Giusippe whom “every one knows … at the glass works.” Through the story the author weaves, we learn about:
- The history of glass-making.
- Venetian glass.
- Mirrors.
- Engraved glass.
- Stained glass and mosaics.
- Glass cutting.
- The uses of glass.
- Blown glass.
- Colored glass.
- Plate glass.
- Many more odd bits of knowledge about glass in other countries and various types of glass.
At the same time, we receive a bit of a tour of Venice. (For more about St. Mark’s and the pigeons, you may enjoy Chico: The Story of a Homing Pigeon.) And then tour glass-manufacturing plants in America.
Rather than be presented with the dry facts of glass-making, The Story of Glass really does tell a story — a living book and free!
We have added this wonderful title to our glass unit study!
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Additional Resources
Glass: A Unit Study
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