This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
For Craig, Callisto, and Oscar. I can always count on you.
Special thanks to Mindy, Mira, Joan, Sawyer, Meredith, Melissa, Ashley, and Kathy
—D.M.M.
To my nephews Tolotra and Liantsoa. Science moves the world!
—S.C.
The artwork in this book was created digitally.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4197-6996-2
eISBN 979-8-88707-106-0
Text © 2025 Dana Marie Miroballi
Illustrations © 2025 Sawyer Cloud
Book design by Melissa Nelson Greenberg
Published in 2025 by Appleseed, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Printed and bound in China
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
For bulk discount inquiries, contact specialsales@abramsbooks.com.
Abrams Appleseed® is a registered trademark of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
A CELEBRATION OF BLACK INVENTORS
Abrams Appleseed • New York
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
One heater keeps a family warm, sheltered from the winter storm.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
2 PHONES
Two phones bridge a thousand miles, bringing laughter, joy, and smiles.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
6 SCOOPS
Six scoops make a tasty treat, stacked in cones for us to eat!
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
7 SHIRTS
Seven shirts hang neatly pressed— makes it easy to get dressed.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
8 SHOES
Eight shoes will dance the night away: tango, hip-hop, and ballet.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
9 TRAIN CARS
Nine train cars zip down the track to the city and then back.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
10 FLOORS
Ten floors straight up to the top. Doors will open when we stop!
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
What Is an Inventor?
Inventors design useful devices, make improvements to older inventions, or develop original ways of doing things. They make the world better by coming up with new ideas to solve problems and developing creative ways to fulfill needs. Inventors can receive a patent to protect their product or idea.
What Is a Patent?
A patent is an official document that gives an inventor control over who is allowed to make, use, and sell an invention. An inventor must apply for a patent. This includes writing a description of the invention, providing drawings, and paying a fee. Patents usually last twenty years and are only given for inventions that are original and useful. Not all patents result in the production of a new invention but they are still important. They protect inventors by preventing other people from producing the invention without permission.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
What Will YOU Invent?
The Black inventors in this book—and many, many more—helped change the world through their cleverness, curiosity, and creativity. Modern inventors are now shaping the present and future. You can too! What are you curious about? Will your ideas help people feel safe outdoors, like Raquel Graham’s Headlightz beanies? Will they lead to new communication methods, like Roy Allela’s Sign-IO smart gloves? Or will your ideas keep the fun going, like Tahira Reid’s double Dutch jump rope machine?
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Whether you’re interested in technology, safety, or entertainment, there are always problems to solve, things to improve, and new discoveries to be made. It’s your turn to influence tomorrow. What can you imagine changing for the better?
Meet the Inventors!
Throughout history, Black inventors have faced racial prejudice and systemic discrimination that have made it harder for them to become successful, especially by limiting their access to resources like wealth and education. Those same obstacles are why many of their contributions are still overlooked today. The inventors featured in this book challenged racial stereotypes and dared to dream. They each saw a problem that needed to be solved, or recognized that a product could be improved. Not all of their inventions were made and sold, but the patents are proof of their creativity and desire to make life better. For inventors like Alice H. Parker, their patents are the main records we have of their lives. Some Black inventors, like Garrett Morgan, chose to sell their patents to white businessmen. Others, like Anna M. Mangin, were visionaries ahead of their time, whose ideas helped pave the way for future inventions. The Black inventors below deserve to be celebrated, not only as a way to honor their legacy but also to inspire future generations of inventors from all backgrounds.
1 HEATER
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
2 PHONES
Alice H. Parker (c. 1895–1920) was living in New Jersey in 1918 when she invented a new way of keeping homes warm during the winter. Parker’s gas furnace design, which received a patent in 1919, heated multiple rooms with greater efficiency and would have posed a lower fire risk than the wood-burning fireplaces and coal stoves that were common at the time. Although it was never produced, her invention is an early example of the central heating systems used in buildings today. Unfortunately, little is known about Parker apart from her patent, and there are no verified photographs of her.
• JAMES WEST • MODERN MICROPHONE • 1964 • U.S. PATENT 3,118,022
James West (1931–) is an award-winning professor and scientist from Virginia. In 1962, West and a German scientist named Gerhard Sessler invented a new type of microphone. Their electret microphone (also known as an “electroacoustic transducer”) was smaller, less expensive, and more sensitive than previous microphones. Almost all microphones in modern devices like phones, hearing aids, baby monitors, and recording equipment still use this technology.
3 LIGHTS
• GARRETT MORGAN • THREE-WAY TRAFFIC SIGNAL • 1923 • U.S. PATENT 1,475,024
4 PIES
Garrett Morgan (1877–1963), the first Black man in Cleveland, Ohio, to own a car, wanted to improve traffic safety after witnessing an accident. In 1923, he invented a manually operated, three-position traffic signal that warned drivers to use caution at intersections instead of just showing when to stop and go like existing two-position signals. Morgan sold his invention to General Electric. The third signal later became the yellow traffic light we know today, which alerts drivers to slow down.
• ANNA M. MANGIN • PASTRY FORK • 1892 • U.S. PATENT 470,005
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Anna M. Mangin (1844–1931), who was born in Louisiana, developed a revolutionary alternative to kneading dough by hand: a pastry fork that could be used not only to mix dough but also to mash potatoes and beat eggs. Mangin’s invention, which she patented in 1892, was so innovative that it was exhibited at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, at a time when Black inventors were often excluded from public exhibitions.
5 FIRE TRUCKS
• JOSEPH WINTERS • IMPROVED FIRE ESCAPE LADDER • 1878 • U.S. PATENT 203,517
Joseph Winters (c. 1816–1916) was a writer and the son of a Black brickmaker and a Shawnee woman. While living in Pennsylvania in 1878, he invented an improved fire escape ladder after noticing that firefighters had to take the ladders off wagons before climbing to reach windows, which wasted precious time. Winters’s ladder made rescuing easier because it stayed on the wagon and could be extended high up. His ladder was safer, too, because it was made from metal rather than from flammable wood. He also patented an improved design for a fire escape ladder that could be attached to a building.
SCOOPS • ALFRED L. CRALLE • ICE CREAM SCOOPER WITH BUILT-IN SCRAPER • 1897 • U.S. PATENT 576,395
Alfred L. Cralle (1866–1919) worked as a carpenter with his father in Virginia before moving to Pennsylvania. While working at a hotel in Pittsburgh, Cralle noticed that scooping ice cream for customers was difficult because it stuck to the spoon. This inspired him to invent an ice cream scooper with a built-in scraper in 1897 to make serving ice cream quicker and less messy. Referred to in his patent as the “Ice Cream Mold and Disher,” Cralle’s tool could be operated with just one hand like the ones we still use today.
7 SHIRTS • SARAH BOONE • IMPROVED IRONING BOARD • 1892 • U.S. PATENT 473,653
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Sarah Boone (1832–1904), a dressmaker and mother of eight, invented an improved ironing board in 1892. Her new design included a narrow, inclined board with curved edges perfect for ironing shirt sleeves. Boone was born into slavery in North Carolina and later escaped to Connecticut. She was one of the first known Black women to receive a U.S. patent. Boone’s invention was popular with dressmakers, but like many Black inventors she did not receive recognition during her lifetime.
8 SHOES • JAN ERNST MATZELIGER • AUTOMATED SHOEMAKING MACHINE • 1883 • U.S. PATENT 274,207
Jan Ernst Matzeliger (1852–1889) was born in the country Suriname in South America to an enslaved woman of African descent and a Dutchman with German ancestry. Matzeliger moved to the United States as a young man and worked at a shoe factory in Massachusetts. He invented a device called a lasting machine in 1883 that could assemble hundreds of shoes a day compared to the fifty that could be made by hand in the same time. This invention made shoes cheaper and changed the shoe industry forever.
9 TRAIN CARS • GRANVILLE T. WOODS • ELECTRIC RAILWAY IMPROVEMENT • 1891 • U.S. PATENT 463,020
Granville T. Woods (1856–1910) developed multiple inventions for public transportation, and many of his ideas are still used today. He received a patent in 1891 for the electric railway system that allows the third rail to supply electricity to trains without a secondary battery or exposed wires. Woods also designed the troller, the wheel that allows trolley cars to collect electric power from overhead wires; an improved air brake for trains; and a telegraph system for communicating between trains and train stations. He went to court to defend the patent for the induction telegraph system after Thomas Edison claimed he invented it.
10 FLOORS • ALEXANDER MILES • ELEVATOR WITH AUTOMATIC DOORS • 1887 • U.S. PATENT 371,207
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Alexander Miles (1838–1918), a barber and businessman originally from Ohio, invented an elevator with automatic doors in 1887. At that time, elevator doors were worked by hand, which led to accidents when people forgot to close the door. Miles decided to design a safer system to prevent people from falling down the elevator shaft. His innovation highlighted the importance of safety features and influenced modern elevator designs. The popularity of Miles’s invention, along with his other successful businesses, made him very wealthy.
Selected Sources
Asante, Molefi Kete. 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2002.
Brown, David E. Inventing Modern America: From the Microwave to the Mouse. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. African American Lives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Sullivan, Otha Richard. African American Inventors. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Sullivan, Otha Richard. African American Women Scientists and Inventors. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Trusty, Kathy. Black Inventors: 15 Inventions That Changed the World. Emeryville, CA: Rockridge Press, 2021.
Webster, Raymond B. African American Firsts in Science & Technology. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 1999.
Winston, Robert. Inventors. London: Dorling Kindersley Ltd, 2020. This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
More Picture Books About Black Inventors
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath by Julia Finley Mosca and Daniel Rieley
Have You Thanked an Inventor Today? by Patrice McLaurin and Dian Wang
Ice Cream Man by Glenda Armand, Kim Freeman, and Keith Mallett
Jerry Changed the Game! by Don Tate and Cherise Harris
Mr. Crum’s Potato Predicament by Anne Renaud and Felicita Sala
Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal by Karyn Parsons and R. Gregory Christie
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta and Frank Morrison
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Sweet Dreams, Sarah by Vivian Kirkfield and Chris Ewald
Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Ideas by Chris Barton and Don Tate
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
