I’d been thinking for a while that I could use an elevator pitch for The Day-Glo Brothers. Then, this morning, I saw this item in Charlesbridge‘s author/illustrator questionnaire:

In approximately 75 words, please provide a description of your book.

In exactly 75 words, here’s what I came up with:

“You know those fluorescent oranges and yellows and greens that you see every day on traffic cones, safety vests, highlighters, and so on? A hundred years ago, those colors didn’t even exist. The Day-Glo Brothers is the story of the guys who invented those colors while they were in their teens and 20s back during the Depression and World War II. It all started with a magic act and an accident at the ketchup factory…”

Be honest, now: Would this make you take the stairs?