Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal (Book Review)
This beautifully illustrated book was our choice for the very first Homeschool for The Culture Saturday Story Hour meetup and it did not disappoint! We received a complimentary copy of this book for our meetup and wanted to share an honest review.
Author: Karyn Parsons
Illustrator: R. Gregory Christie
Published by: Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Reading Age: 4-8 years
Garrett Morgan is one of Black America’s most well-known historical figures. In fact, if I remember correctly, he is one of the first individuals I learned about during Black History Month as a child. His invention of the three-way traffic signal made the roads a much safer place for us all and led to the red, yellow and green traffic light that we use today.
Author Karyn Parsons takes us on a journey to the past through her book, Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal and gives us a glimpse into the early life of inventor Garrett Morgan.
The book features vibrant and colorful illustrations by R. Gregory Christie that help to bring the story to life and perfectly captured the emotion of the story. I found myself hanging on to every word, as the story continuously built anticipation for Garrett’s big break.
I like how Parsons approached the story from the angle of Garrett helping in his own way. As a mom of multiple children, I’ve seen firsthand how younger children try to imitate their older siblings by trying to do everything that they’re doing.
With my boys, I try to emphasize their individuality and teach them that everyone has their own special talents and skills to offer to the world. This story does a great job of reinforcing that concept, with Garrett helping in a way that was so much bigger than even he may have realized as a young man.
I especially enjoyed the Author’s Note at the end of the book detailing Parsons’ inspiration for the story and clarifying how Garrett Morgan’s invention paved the way for the modern day traffic light.
We chose this book as the first read for our Saturday Story Hour and it was a hit! The children really enjoyed the beautiful illustrations and learning about Garrett Morgan’s determination to help others. You can check out a recap of our meetup on Instagram @homeschool4theculture.
I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed this book! I encourage you to grab a copy for your home or classroom library. We also created two free activities you can download to enhance the retention of the material. Head over to our Patreon page to download and print them!