In 1877, George Eastman, a New York banker, took up photography as a hobby, but was frustrated by the expensive, cumbersome, and time-consuming process. After his first photo shoot took so long that his subjects lost interest and wandered away, Eastman decided to make some technological improvements.

Working initially out of his mother’s kitchen before establishing his own business – a little thing called Kodak – Eastman invented dry photographic plates, then film, and finally the mass-produced and inexpensive Brownie camera. Once he made his fortune, he was happy to share, becoming a keen philanthropist and entrepreneur.

The first book in Tundra’s Great Ideas series, It’s a Snap! teams up two veterans of children’s lit, prolific biographer Monica Kulling and illustrator Bill Slavin. Slavin’s artwork sparkles with its usual animism, creating realistic but witty images, and Kulling’s prose is crisp and accessible. Kulling frames this biography using traditional storybook elements. In her hands, Eastman is an engagingly kooky visionary with a long-suffering mother.

A third of the short book focuses on a fanciful narrative of Eastman’s first photograph, an event that – folk-tale fashion – draws in half the townsfolk. It’s a lively and imaginative retelling, but the story itself is too slight to carry such an extended rendition. Furthermore, the time spent on it leaves little room for more substantial material – including Eastman’s career and inventions – that the volume skims over. (Similarly, a final brief section on taking good photos needs more development.)

As a biographical snapshot, It’s a Snap! needs a more balanced composition.