Status
Available
Publication
Charlesbridge (2016), Edition: Illustrated, 32 pages
Library's review
Atinkering African-American boy grows up to become the inventor of a very popular toy.
Lonnie Johnson always tinkered with something. As a kid, he built rockets and launched them in the park amid a crowd of friends. (He even made the rocket’s fuel, which once caught fire in the kitchen. Oops.) As
A delightfully child-friendly and painfully necessary diversification of the science field. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)
-Kirkus Review
Lonnie Johnson always tinkered with something. As a kid, he built rockets and launched them in the park amid a crowd of friends. (He even made the rocket’s fuel, which once caught fire in the kitchen. Oops.) As
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an adult he worked for NASA and helped to power the spacecraft Galileo as it explored Jupiter. But nothing is as memorable in the minds of kids as his most famous invention (to date): the Super-Soaker. While testing out a new cooling method for refrigerators, Johnson accidentally sprayed his entire bathroom, and the idea was born. However, the high-powered water gun was not an instant success. Barton shows the tenacity and dedication (and, sometimes, plain good timing) needed to prove ideas. From the initial blast of water that splashes the word “WHOOSH” across the page (and many pages after) to the gatefold that transforms into the Larami toy executives’ (tellingly, mostly white) reactions—“WOW!”—Tate plays up the pressurized-water imagery to the hilt. In a thoughtful author’s note, Barton explains how Johnson challenges the stereotypical white, Einstein-like vision of a scientist.A delightfully child-friendly and painfully necessary diversification of the science field. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)
-Kirkus Review
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Awards
Texas Bluebonnet Award (Nominee — 2018)
Young Hoosier Book Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2019)
Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee — Informational Books — 2018)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2018)
Red Clover Book Award (Nominee — 2018)
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — Elementary — 2019)
Bluestem Award (Nominee — 2019)
Chickadee Award (Nominee — 2018)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — Nonfiction — 2019)
North Carolina Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2018)
Land Of Enchantment Book Award (Winner — 2020)
Rhode Island Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2018)
Kids' Book Choice Awards (Finalist — 2017)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 2018)
Volunteer State Book Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2019)
Cook Prize (Honor Book — 2017)
Patricia Gallagher Children's Choice Picture Book Award (Winner — 2021)
Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award (Honor — 2019)
Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award (Winner — 2019)
William C. Towner Student Award for Informational Text (Nominee — 2018)
CCBC Choices (2017)
Children's Favorites Awards (Selection — 2017)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Kids (Nonfiction — 2016)
Nerdy Book Award (Nonfiction Picture Books — 2016)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Informational Books for Younger Readers — 2016)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2016-05-03
ISBN
1580892973 / 9781580892971
Other editions
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