Customer Reviews

Great Black Heroes: Five Notable Inventors (level 4) (Hello Reader)

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4 star:		(2)
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My eight year old daughter and I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book aloud together. The five inventors chronicled were individuals of which I had very little knowledge. Their stories were inspiring and interesting, not dwelling too much on any adversity they suffered because of racism, but not glossing over it either. The author describes the inventors and their inventions in clear, concise, and simple language. The illustrations are plentiful, colorful, and imaginative.

Madame C.J. Walker's life story as the first black female millionaire was particularly inspiring considering the personal tragedies she overcame in her rise from the cotton fields of the south to owner of her own highly successful company. As a young black girl growing up many years ago I would have loved to have had such an inspiring book to read. I hope Scholastic and other publishers come out with other biographies of less well know but notable Africnan-Americans for young readers to learn about.

Due to the fact that my local library had the worst Black History month display, I decided to buy this book to show my daughters some of the inventors that have made some of the everyday things we use. Although this book is very small it was well written and gave enough information for children. My only issue is that I wish there were more inventor series books for children. There are so many African American inventors that made contributions I just wish I had more books to purchase or the book could have been a bit longer.

I purchased this book for my 7 year old daughter who is in the 2nd grade. Her teacher suggested that she start reading biographies. When I started my search, I thought that I would only find books on a specific person, leaving me with the dilemma of having to choose an individual for my picky daughter, and praying that she would like who I picked out.
When I came across this book, I welcomed the fact that it gave a synopsis of various inventors, as opposed to one specific person. In this way, my daughter had her own opportunity to exercise her voice and independence in choosing an individual or individuals that SHE is truly interested in expounding on, and not something that MOMMY thinks she should persevere.
Secondly, the pictures are well illustrated on glossy paper (something very important to my 2nd grade babe -it helps keep her attention). Third, the letters are bold and large, which makes it easy on the eyes.
Last, the language is simplistic, yet sophisticated enough for a 2nd or even a 3rd grader to follow and comprehend.
This book provided a grassroots foundation into the introduction of biography for my little girl. Obviously, this is not a full length biography, however, it provided a start for us in our search for who she would like to ellaborate on. In closing, I just want to say that I appreciate this book, and plan on purchasing more from this publisher.