The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan
Inventor, Entrepreneur, Hero
by Joan DiCicco
illustrated by Ebony Glenn
Lee & Low Books, 2019. 40 pages.
Review written April 22, 2020, from a library book
Here’s another fascinating picture book biography about an amazing person I knew nothing about.
Garrett Morgan was an African American inventor and born in 1877. He grew up on a farm in the South and moved to Cincinnati to find opportunities. He worked as a janitor, but was good at fixing equipment and was promoted to machinist for a clothing manufacturer.
When he wanted to marry a white seamstress from Germany, he quit his job and opened his own sewing machine repair shop. Together with his wife, they expanded their business to a company making affordable clothing.
But where Garrett Morgan really made a name for himself was designing and manufacturing “Safety Hoods” for firefighters to wear. It would bring fresher air up from ground level to keep the wearer from smoke inhalation. Where he gained the reputation of a hero was when he wore one of his own Safety Hoods to rescue people from a tunnel explosion.
And he continued to keep people safe, as later in his life he invented a system of traffic signals.
His story is told as someone who wasn’t stopped by obstacles.
With determination and courage, Garrett Morgan went around, over, and through every obstacle between him and his goal to help others. Today his legacy is all around us. Whenever firefighters rescue people from smoke-filled buildings or motorists and pedestrians safely cross an intersection, we have a brave inventor to thank: Garrett Morgan.
joandiciccowriter.com
ebonyglenn.com
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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.
Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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