Brilliant Black Inventors Vol 1 (PDF)

Same book, instant download. Print the whole thing or just the pages you want, at home or at a print shop. Print a page again when someone wants a second try.

Inventors notice problems, ask questions, and try ideas. This book introduces twelve Black inventors through short, true stories a kid can read on their own, each paired with a full-page picture of the moment to color.

The story sits on the left page. The picture sits on the right, framed so nothing gets lost at the edges, and never backed by another drawing, so markers won’t bleed through onto the next picture. Every story ends with a Think About It question.

Meet the inventors

• Lonnie Johnson, the engineer whose unexpected splash became a famous water toy
• James E. West, co-inventor of the microphone inside almost every phone
• Valerie Thomas, the NASA scientist behind the illusion transmitter
• Lewis Latimer, who made the light bulb last
• Thomas Jennings, the tailor who held one of the earliest patents granted to a Black American
• Jan Ernst Matzeliger, who taught a machine to make shoes
• Mary Beatrice Kenner, who kept inventing for everyday life
• Patricia Bath, the eye doctor who used a laser to restore sight
• Marie Van Brittan Brown, who invented the home security system
• Garrett Morgan, whose traffic signal made the street safer
• Frederick McKinley Jones, who put refrigeration on the road
• Elijah McCoy, the real McCoy, who kept the trains running

Also inside: a glossary of words to explore, a sources page for every inventor, and a note for grown-ups on how to use the book together.

Details: 61-page PDF (cover plus 60 interior pages). US Letter, 8.5 x 11 in. Print in black and white. For personal and classroom use; not for resale. Your download link appears after checkout and in your order email.

The first book in The History Makers Club, from Black Knowledge Today.