Great Black Heroes: Five Notable Inventors (Level 4)

Due to the fact that my local library had the worst Black History month display, I decided to buy this book to show my daughters some of the inventors that have made some of the everyday things we use. Although this book is very small it was well written and gave enough information for children. My only issue is that I wish there were more inventor series books for children. There are so many African American inventors that made contributions I just wish I had more books to purchase or the book could have been a bit longer.

My eight year old daughter and I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book aloud together. The five inventors chronicled were individuals of which I had very little knowledge. Their stories were inspiring and interesting, not dwelling too much on any adversity they suffered because of racism, but not glossing over it either. The author describes the inventors and their inventions in clear, concise, and simple language. The illustrations are plentiful, colorful, and imaginative.Madame C.J. Walker's life story as the first black female millionaire was particularly inspiring considering the personal tragedies she overcame in her rise from the cotton fields of the south to owner of her own highly successful company. As a young black girl growing up many years ago I would have loved to have had such an inspiring book to read. I hope Scholastic and other publishers come out with other biographies of less well know but notable Africnan-Americans for young readers to learn about.