I’m writing this post the day before Black History Month begins, eager to hear what plans parents and educators have for learning and celebrating this month. My tween is science-obsessed, so in our homeschool, we’re starting with Black scientists and inventors.
(I also asked my kiddo to choose another topic pictured in The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez. He chose Q is for Queens, so we’ll be learning about pre-colonial African empires too.)
Whether you have young children or an older kiddo like mine, there are many great children’s books about Black scientists, engineers, and inventors. In this post I share twelve of my favorites that are written by Black authors.
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Engaging picture books about Black scientists, architects, engineers, and inventors
Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed. Illustrated by Stasia Burrington.
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As a child, future astronaut Mae Jemison dreams about seeing the Earth “from out there.” With her parents’ encouragement, she reads everything she can find about space. She makes her own astronaut costume from orange curtains and a cardboard box. She tells other family members and friends, and her dream continues growing.
But when Mae tells her class that she wants to be astronaut, her white teacher tells her that being a nurse would be better “for someone like you.” Mae’s parents won’t let her give up on her dream, and she promises that one day she’ll wave to them from a spaceship. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7. Black author: Somalian-Norwegian.)
Related post: Children’s books and resources for learning Black history all year round
Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal by Karyn Parsons. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.
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Where did Garrett Morgan get his idea for the color changing traffic signal that people can’t think of living without today? Karyn Parsons imagines that it may have been when Morgan was almost been struck by a car himself during one of his many daydreaming walks.
With rhyming text and illustrations of expressive faces, the book takes young readers to the big city, where Morgan took a job repairing sewing machines. His inquisitive mind led to many inventions, and the ones that were most important to Morgan were those that helped others. When Morgan once again almost ends up being flattened, this time by a cyclist, he realized that a traffic signal that could be seen, not just heard, was the next thing he must invent. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8. Black author: African-American.)
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The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just by Mélina Mangal. Illustrated by Luisa Uribe.
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As a child growing up in the late 1800s, Ernest Everett Just was a careful observer of many things, but none more than the animals. Despite many obstacles, including having to support his siblings after his mother died, Just eventually made it to Dartmouth College. There, his experiences with a microscope changed the trajectory of his life.
Just’s work was groundbreaking because unlike many biologists of his time, he paid attention to the whole organism, not just its parts. He understood the importance of observing creatures like marine worms in their natural environment, rather than just a lab. Because of the racism he faced in the United States, Just eventually spent longer and longer periods of time in Europe, where his work received the recognition it deserved.(Recommended for ages 5 – 9. Black author: African-American.)
Related post: 7 anti-bias strategies for teaching math and science
George Crum and the Saratoga Chip by Gaylia Taylor. Illustrated by Frank Morrison.
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When we learn about the work of Black scientists and inventors, let’s not forget culinary inventions!
As a child growing up in the 1830s, George Crum was no stranger to disrespect. As an African American and Native American, he faced racism, and at school he faced ridicule because of his learning difficulties. But when a French hunter introduced George to cooking techniques, he discovered his passion and talent.
As a young adult, Crum was determined to become a chef, though most restaurants would only hire Black workers to be waiters. After seeing his talent, one of the best restaurants in Saratoga Springs agreed to hire him. He loved creating new dishes, but not the disrespect that many customers treated him with. When a finicky customer announced that her French-fried potatoes were not thin enough, Crum’s frustation led him to accidentally invent the Saratoga fried potato chip.
Though customers continually asked for his culinary creations, Crum longed to cook somewhere where he and everyone else received respect. That’s how his own restaurant, Crum’s Place, came to be born. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8. Black author: African-American.)
Related post: 15 picture books filled with Black joy
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly. Illustrated by Laura Freeman.
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Of course, any list of children’s books about Black scientists and engineers has to include Hidden Figures! (For ages 10+ see Shetterly’s chapter book by the same title.)
In the years leading up to the space race between the United States and the USSR, “computers” were people who did high level math problems. This engaging picture book tells kids about four Black women whose math skills kept countless pilots and astronauts safe during their missions. Young readers will also learn how Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden had to push repeatedly to break through racial and gender barriers.
For example, Johnson wanted to go to research meetings with the other experts on her team. Her boss refused, saying that women couldn’t attend. But Johnson’s dogged persistence eventually won her entry. Mary Jackson wanted to become an engineer, but officials at the aeronautics lab said it was impossible. She would need to take high level math classes at a school Blacks weren’t allowed to attend. Jackson persisted, and became the first African American woman engineer in the lab. (Recommended for ages 5 – 9. Black author: African-American.)
Related post: 15 children’s books about Black women leaders
Dear Benjamin Banneker by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney.
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Self-taught astronomer and mathematician Benjamin Banneker is sometimes called the first Black scientist in America. He created almanacs in a time when people relied on these books for their success of their harvests, and therefore their economic survivial. Banneker knew that the almanac he painstakingly wrote in 1790 was as good as any of those created by white writers, yet he could not find a publisher who would print his work. Eventually an abolitionist society worked to bring Banneker’s almanac to the public, though it was so late in the year that he had to start from scratch on a new book.
Davis Pinkney also highlights another brave and thoughful contribution Banneker made when he wrote to then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Banneker criticized him for his advocacy of freedom while upholding enslavement. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10. Black author: African-American.)
Related post: How should we talk about enslavement with children?
Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon by Kelly Starling Lyons. Illustrated by Laura Freeman.
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This striking biography of the architect who designed the National Museum of African American History and Culture begins with how he discovered his gifts in childhood. While school was sometimes a struggle because of his difficulty reading, Philip Freelon’s Pop Pop, a Harlem Renaissance painter, helped him see “the world with an artist’s inner eye. As a teen, Philip’s art began to reflect the civil rights movement and messages of Black Pride.
When he pursued his architecture degree in college, Freelon set out to discover African American and African designers that he wasn’t taught about in class. As an architect, he only designed buildings that would fill people with joy and knowledge, like museums, schools, and libraries (not prisons or casinos.) All of these experiences prepared his architectural team to propose a design for the National Museum of American History that reflected the royal heritage, Black craftmanship, and welcoming space of his culture. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10. Black author: African-American.)
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Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington. Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III.
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Did you know that spiders and ants can learn, which proves they are not mindless workers? Or that bees can see color? Black scientist Charles Henry Turner was the first to discover these facts through endless hours of observation and carefully designed entomology experiments. Turner even trained moths to beat their wings when they heard a whistle, similar to Pavlov’s dogs.
Children will marvel at all the discoveries made by this highly respected scientist, who made his way in the world at a time when African Americans faced countless barriers and violence. They’ll be inspired to follow their own endless questions to make discoveries for themselves. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10. Black author: African-American.)
Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis.
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Elizabeth Coleman was the first Black American woman and Native American woman to earn a pilot’s license, though she had to travel to France to find a flight school that would teach her. In this work of historical fiction written in free verse, Nikki Grimes describes the important events of Coleman’s life through the memories of friends and family.
Coleman’s determined personality shines through in poems such as her friend Robert Abbott’s, who compares her copper colored skin with her inner core, “tough as any metal, and always ready and willing to test her strength.” The poems and water color illustrations will also give children a sense of just how harrowing flying was in Coleman’s day, including the multiple accidents she suffered before the one that tragically took her life. (Recommended for ages 8 – 12. Black author: African-American.)
Chapter books and anthologies about Black scientists and inventors
Lewis Latimer: Engineering Wizard by Denise Lewis Patrick.
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This book is where our family is starting our homeschool study of Black scientists. An engaging biography of Lewis Latimer, Patrick deftly weaves together the story of his career as an inventor, engineer, and draftsman with an exploration of the times he lived in. As young readers learn about Latimer’s parents escape from slavery and involvement in the abolitionist movement, they will understand his motivation to lie about his age so that he could fight for the Union in the Civil War.
Latimer’s artistic talent and courage helped him move from the job of “office boy” at a law firm for inventors to draftsman, even as his boss expressed initial disbelief at Latimer’s request to do this complex work. Latimer’s drafting skills, knowledge of patent law, and his experience in the new field of electricity led him to do crucial work with Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and others. He also patented many of his own inventions. (Recommended for ages 8 – 12. Black author: African American.)
Black Women in Science by Kimerly Brown Pellum
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This anthology highlights Black women leaders from a variety of scientific fields and time periods. Young readers will meet 20th century engineer and astronaut Mae Jemison and physician Rebecca Lee Crumpler, who began her work during the Civil War.
There are unsung inventors, such as Annie Turnbo Malone, who pioneered Black hair care products like the hot comb before the more famous Madame CJ Walker. Nutrion professor Flemmie Pansy Kittrell made important advancements in child nutrition that helped lead to the development of the Head Start program.
Each chapter is a thorough biography but at times a bit dry. Adults may wish to read and summarize some of the book to share with children who are less passionate about science and history. (Recommended for ages 8 – 12. Black author: African-American.)
Grab my printable list of top diverse books for every age, from 2 to 12
Plus, discover which “classic” books I don’t recommend because of racist content.
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What Color Is My World? The Lost History of African-American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld. Illustrated by Ben Boos and A.G. Ford.
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This anthology of Black scientists and inventors is couched within an engaging story of two children who are moving into a large but dilapidated home that their parents are renovating. As Ella and Herbie hang out with the handyman Mr. Mital, he teaches them about Black STEM leaders who made homes like this one possible.
Alongside the story there are large flaps that can be lifted to learn more about the inventors who are pictured on them, written by the children. Other innovators such as Lewis Latimer are given more in-depth coverage on large page spreads. There’s so much to explore in the book, it’s best read in more than one sitting. I do find it disappointing that the authors included only one woman inventor, so you may want to supplement this book with other ones. (Recommended for ages 8 – 12. Black author (Abdul-Jabbar). White author (Obstfeld.)
What other children’s books about Black scientists and inventors do you recommend? Share in the comments!