Wade Hudson is the author of nearly 30 books for children and Young adults. He and his wife Cheryl are the founders of Just Us Books, Inc., a leading publisher of multicultural books for children.
This book contained five short biographies about these great inventors. It was full of interesting details and did not shy away from the hardships that the inventors endured.
This is a great book that acknowledges inventions designed, created, and envisioned by African Americans. Focusing on just five inventors is ideal for young learners. A class can be grouped and assigned an inventor to research and report on. I also would use this book to teach ingenuity and hard work. Students can recreate an invention, draw a blueprint of one, or research the technological progress made to the original. This book can be used to incorporate, science, literacy, math, and social studies into one lesson!
Second through sixth grade. The book is about five notable black inventors ranging from Madam CJ Walker, Grantville T.Woods, Elijah Mccoy and Jan Ernst. The book provides background on the early lives and contributions of each person while also providing drawings in between pages. The language is simple enough to understand and synthesize. I'd use the book to talk about black history and also use it to make students do an informational essay or a book report to see if they understand important facts as well as how to be concise when reciting information.
* Good for a class read/individual reader * Madam C.J. Walker, Elijah McCoy, Garrett A. Morgan, Granville T. Woods, Jan Ernst Matzeliger * Big print, colorful illustrations * Grades 2-3 * Inventions * Entrepreneurship * Black History month * Can lead to discussions about what the children are capable of and what inventions they might pose; why would their inventions be marketable?
I learned about people who invented things and some we still use, like hair things. My favorite part was when the girl made the hair stuff that made the hair grow back when it fell out. Auryn - 7yo
This book successfully introduces black inventors to young readers. It's informational and opens up the path for a lesson plan about diversity and history. I recommend this for grades 2 and 3.