Clean sweep! : Frank Zamboni's ice machine

A new picture book biography in the award-winning Great Ideas series (Tundra), Clean Sweep! introduces young readers to an inventor whose work transformed skating.

When Frank Zamboni opened his own rink in 1940 in California it could take an hour and a half for a crew to resurface the ice.

Working in the shed behind his ice rink, Frank drew designs and built models of machines he hoped would help simplify the job.

For nine years he worked on his invention and finally, in 1949, Frank tested the Model A, which 'cleaned the ice in one sweep round the rink.' The rest is history.