Tim Kehoe (May 11, 1970 – February 27, 2014) was an author and toy inventor from St. Paul, Minnesota. He invented numerous toys, and was perhaps best known for inventing non-staining colored bubbles,

Zubbles Zubbles is a commercial name for colored soap bubbles. Zubbles claim to fame is that they are the first colored soap bubbles that do not leave stains. Instead they fade away with exposure to air, pressure, and water. ''Popular Science'' named Zu ...

. Zubbles took more than 14 years to develop and incorporated a great deal of research in various fields, including

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and the science of

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

. Kehoe died unexpectedly at the age of 43 in 2014.

Author

Kehoe was the author of the Vincent Shadow series published by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

. Eleven-year-old Vincent Shadow dreamed of being a toy inventor. He had notebooks full of ideas: bubbles that carried sound, rockets that pop into kites, and a football that would rather bite than be caught. Unfortunately, the secret attic lab where Vincent built his prototypes had seen more disasters than triumphs. But a chance encounter with eccentric toy inventor Howard G. Whiz, and the discovery of long-lost inventions by one of the world's greatest scientists would change Vincent's life forever. Kehoe also authored the forthcoming middle-grade thriller ''Furious Jones and the Assassin's Secret.'' Furious Jones’s dad is a world-famous thriller writer, an all around Hemingway-esque tough-guy. His dad was brutally murdered onstage one week before the release of his latest book. Furious had a front row seat to the killing. Now an orphan, Furious is set to inherit a small fortune and massive trouble. But, after spending time with a secret copy of his dad’s soon-to-be-released book, Furious decides to stop running and start chasing.

Books

*''

The Unusual Mind of Vincent Shadow ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', 11/01/2009, Little, Brown, and Company *'' Vincent Shadow: Toy Inventor'', 8/03/2011, Little, Brown, and Company *'' Vincent Shadow: The Top Secret Toys'', 11/02/2011, Little, Brown, and Company *''

Furious Jones and the Assassin's Secret Furious may refer to: *Rage (emotion) Arts and entertainment *Furious (album), by Soopa Villainz, 2005 *"Furious", a song by Joan as Police Woman from the 2008 album ''To Survive'' *"Furious", a song by Ja Rule from ''The Fast and the Furious '' ...

'', Coming spring 2014, Simon & Schuster

Awards

* 2005

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

Grand Prize for Innovation * 2006 One of America’s 100 Best by

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

* 2006 'Forty Under 40' winner by the Business Journal * 2008 'Pick of the Lists' choices at the Midwest Booksellers Association Fall Trade Show * 2011 North Carolina Children's Book Award Nominee

References

The Believer
interview, May 2007
Startup Nation

Morning Edition
interview, December 22, 2005

Shelf Awareness, September 29, 2008

2011 North Carolina Children's Book Award Winners

External links

Tim Kehoe's web site (archived)

Vincent Shadow web site (archived)

Zubbles home page (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kehoe, Tim 1970 births 2014 deaths Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota Toy inventors