First published 2012
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar opens with James West, the inventor whose microphone technology lives inside every cell phone. The basketball champion and NBA scoring record holder profiles forgotten African-American innovators who transformed daily life. Fred Jones created refrigerated trucks that stock every supermarket. Dr. Percy Julian extracted cortisone from soybeans, relieving countless patients' suffering. Abdul-Jabbar weaves these stories through adventures with two spirited twins who discover the Black minds behind everyday objects. Readers meet the creators of the gamma electric cell, the ice cream scoop, improved traffic signals, and advances in heart surgery. Each inventor faced enormous obstacles yet persisted in improving human lives. Abdul-Jabbar celebrates their ingenuity while revealing how these unrecognized pioneers made the modern world safer and more convenient.
Genres: biography, history, science, african-american, non-fiction, technology
Vibes: educational, inspirational, thought-provoking
Tropes: educational, inspirational
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
44 pages · Hardcover · Candlewick