Book on Inventors for Black History Month

To help celebrate Black History Month in February, I am recommending the book What Color Is My World? by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld.  Thirteen-year-old twins are the focus of this small novel as they move into a new house and learn about inventors that share their heritage.

Purchase What Color Is My World HERE

(My disclaimer - I really wanted you to see the cover of the book and the only way I could figure out how to do that LEGALLY was to become an Amazon Affiliate.  I need to include this link where you could buy it if you want and as an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Twins Herbie and Ella move into a new house that is a bit of a fixer-upper.  The handyman their family has hired begins teaching them about African-American inventors who have made things found around the house, like the light-bulb or an ice-cream scoop.  The kids are amazed at how many people they have never even heard about that should be celebrated for their new (or improved) ideas.

photo from Pixabay.com

Mixed within the story of the children and their new house, the authors have included biographies of 16 different men and women from history.  People like Dr. Henry T. Sampson, Joseph Lee, and Dr. Valerie L. Thomas to just name a few.

I found this book to be very reader friendly and not dry like a typical history book, but also not babyish like some of the picture books on the same topics.  This would definitely be a strong fit for a middle school or upper elementary group.

If you decide to try the book for your class, checkout my discussion questions to go with it.