The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan: Inventor, Entrepreneur, Hero

by Joan Dicicco (Author) Ebony Glenn (Illustrator)

The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan: Inventor, Entrepreneur, Hero
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

"If a man puts something to block your way, the first time you go around it, the second time you go over it, and the third time you go through it."

Living by these words made inventor and entrepreneur Garrett Morgan unstoppable! Growing up in Claysville, Kentucky, the son of freed slaves, young and curious Garrett was eager for life beyond his family's farm. At age fourteen, he moved north to Cleveland, where his creative mind took flight amidst the city's booming clothing-manufacturing industry.

Using his ingenuity and tenacity, Garrett overcame racial barriers and forged a career as a successful businessman and inventor. But when a tunnel collapsed, trapping twenty men, the rescue would test both Garrett's invention -- and his courage.

Told in compelling prose by debut picture-book author Joan DiCicco and dynamic illustrations from artist Ebony Glenn, The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan is a powerful biography of an extraordinary man who dedicated his life to improving the lives of others.

Select format:
Hardcover
$20.95

Publishers Weekly

DiCicco's well-researched debut picture book highlights the life of boundary-breaking African-American inventor Garrett Morgan. The son of Kentucky sharecroppers, Morgan heads north at 14, getting work as a handyman, opening a sewing machine repair shop--and, alongside his wife, "manufacturing affordable clothing for Cleveland's growing black middle class"--inventing a traffic signal, and garnering a patent for the Safety Hood, a helmet that was developed into gas masks before WWI. Focusing primarily on the Safety Hood and a daring rescue that it facilitated, this biography recalls Morgan's experience with fires as inspiration for the invention. Glenn's digital illustrations, saturated in chalky sepias and browns, exude a diaphanous, smoky ambiance. An extensive timeline and bibliography wrap up this riveting tale of a man who fought against stacked odds to accomplish what he put his mind to. Ages 7-11. (Oct.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4--The son of freed slaves, Garrett Morgan grew up on a sharecropper's farm, an environment in which necessity inspired ingenuity, due to the lack of funds and the constant need for better working tools and equipment. At 14, after a childhood spent creating and fixing, Morgan left the segregated South in search of greater opportunities. By 1901, he had developed and sold the rights to his first invention, a sewing machine belt tightener. After a horrific fire in his adopted hometown of Cleveland, Morgan created the Safety Hood, a heat-resistant canvas helmet with two long tubes attached to help rescuers breathe safely and avoid toxic fumes. Despite a racist public's reluctance to accept a black man's invention, the Safety Hood was widely adopted and was adapted to create gas masks for use in World War I. Morgan spent the rest of his life innovating, creating, and living by his motto: "If a man puts something to block your way, the first time you go around it, the second time you go over it, and the third time you go through it." VERDICT Young readers will relate to this straightforward message of perseverance and encouragement and will warm to Glenn's attractive sepia-tinted pencil and watercolor illustrations.--Kristy Pasquariello, Westwood Public Library, MA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Joan Dicicco

Growing up, Joan DiCicco loved reading biographies and was inspired by other people's stories. She was drawn to Garrett Morgan's story after seeing him described in an anthology of African-American inventors as the only "hero-inventor" among them. This is her first picture book. Joan and her husband live in Portland, Oregon. You can visit her online at www.joandiciccowriter.com.

Ebony Glenn is a children's book illustrator who enjoys bringing stories to life with whimsical and expressive imagery. A passion for the arts, great storytelling, and advocating for more diverse narratives in children's books, she aims to create art that will foster a love of reading in young readers. You can find her online at ebonyglenn.com.

Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781620145647
Lexile Measure
980
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Lee & Low Books
Publication date
October 01, 2019
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF018010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JNF007090 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Science & Technology
JNF061010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Technology | Inventions
Library of Congress categories
Biographies
United States
Inventors
African American inventors
Morgan, Garrett A.
Breathing apparatus
Iventors

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!