Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan's Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal

by Karyn Parsons, R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Overview

★ “Entertaining and informative. A fine contribution to African American creative nonfiction for young readers.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

From Karyn Parson's critically acclaimed Sweet Blackberry video series comes the little known story of Garrett Morgan, an African American inventor who would become a hero.

Before Garrett Morgan became a successful inventor and saved countless lives with his creations, he was a little boy with a head full of ideas on how to make life better for everyone.

At a tumultuous time filled with racism and discrimination, Garrett became a prominent business man and skilled inventor who produced the traffic signal, a gas mask, and other devices still used today.

This second book from the award-winning children's film series founded by Karyn Parsons, Sweet Blackberry, comes a little-known story about a man whose talent would be a gift to the world.

Don't miss the inspiring story of the pilot Bessie Coleman in Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316457262
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	12/07/2021
Series:	A Sweet Blackberry Book
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	330,968
Product dimensions:	11.20(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Karyn Parsons is best known for her role as Will Smith's cousin Hilary Banks on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. After leaving acting behind, Karyn has gone on to found and produce Sweet Blackberry, an award-winning series of children's animated films, to share stories about unsung Black heroes in history, featuring narration from stars such as Alfre Woodard, Queen Latifah, and Chris Rock. The videos have been screened on HBO and Netflix, and enjoyed by schools and libraries across the country. She is the author of Clouds over California, Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight, How High the Moon, and Saving the Day. Karyn lives with her family in Providence, Rhode Island.

R. Gregory Christie is a Caldecott Honor Winner, a six-time recipient of a Coretta Scott King Award Honor, a two-time winner of the New York Times 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year (2000 and 2002), a winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for illustration, and a recipient of the NAACP's Image Award. He is the illustrator on Karyn Parson's Sweet Blackberry films, and its picture book Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight. When he's not illustrating books, he operates GAS-ART GIFTS, a children's bookstore with autographed copies in Decatur, Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

* “The story of Morgan’s accomplishments is entertaining and informative. A fine contribution to African American creative nonfiction for young readers.”

—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight:
“A nice biography of a trailblazer who broke a glass ceiling in aviation for women, and for people of color.”

—School Library Journal

“[R. Gregory] Christie’s stylized illustrations bring life to Coleman’s trailblazing achievements.”

—Publishers Weekly

"[A] worthy introduction."—Booklist

From the Publisher

09/17/2021

PreS-Gr 2—A fictionalized account in verse of the early 20th-century Black inventor Garrett Morgan starts in childhood, with the youngest in a large family. Depicted as a klutzy dreamer who means well but "Couldn't hammer a nail./ Was too weak to lift things,/ Not even a pail," young Garrett nearly gets run over by a car when he's lost in thought. Gravely concerned for his well-being, his parents send him away to work and study in a big city. Morgan is shown to be successful, finding a job repairing sewing machines, and inventing the zigzag stitch. However, witnessing another car accident gets him thinking about traffic safety and the kind of mechanism that would provide "a signal before stopping/ so first they could slow down." In the subsequent description "the green grass of a field,/ Illuminated by sun,/ …red glow of the coals," Parsons seems to conflate Morgan's actual traffic signal invention with the modern three-light system that has more complicated origins. An author's note features a photograph of Morgan, his official patent for his traffic signal that looks quite different from the modern traffic light, and Parson's rationale for focusing on the traffic signal instead of Morgan's "most notable" invention of a breathing device. VERDICT An accessible and inspiring look, garnished with poetic license, at one of history's overlooked inventors.—Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Lib., Boston Univ.

School Library Journal

★ 2021-10-13
A brilliant man’s creation makes the world safer.

Born into a big African American farming family, Garrett Morgan always seems to be in the way, despite his desire to help. As a result, he spends much of his time alone, brainstorming problem-solving inventions. Recognizing his intellectual potential, his parents send him to the city to study with a tutor. Garrett applies himself academically and also learns to repair mechanical devices such as sewing machines. (He even invents the zigzag stitch.) After witnessing a crash between a car and a horse and its carriage and after a bicyclist runs him over, Garrett invents the traffic signal. Christie’s lively and highly textured illustrations in his signature style effectively capture the characters’ emotions and bring to life the time period. The poetic text appears on bright single-colored backgrounds, which contrast sharply with the busy illustrations of Morgan’s life. This book derives from an animated short created by the author’s Sweet Blackberry media company, intended to shine a light on stories of African American achievement. The story of Morgan’s accomplishments is entertaining and informative; the book closes with Morgan’s photo and one of his patents. Unfortunately, the book lacks a biographical timeline and other information about Morgan, so readers will need to look elsewhere to learn more about him.

A fine contribution to African American creative nonfiction for young readers. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews