To the Rescue! Garrett Morgan Underground

This addition to the invention-focused Great Ideas series focuses on Garrett Morgan, a son of freed slaves who pursued a life beyond tilling Kentucky fields. Morgan designed a stronger sewing machine belt and created several hair products, as well as a safety hood for firefighters (a precursor to the gas mask) after the Triangle Shirt Waist Factory fire. Parkins’s handsomely detailed illustrations offer occasional moments of subtle humor, as when Morgan tries out his hair-straightening cream on a neighbor’s pet Airedale—with success! Kulling conveys the impact of racial prejudice on Morgan while celebrating his achievements: when workers digging a tunnel under Lake Erie became trapped after an explosion, the safety hood enabled their rescue. Available simultaneously: Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni’s Ice Machine. Ages 5–8. (Jan.)