Have You Thanked an Inventor Today?

by Patrice McLaurin, Dian Wang (Illustrator), Darren McLaurin (Contributor)

Have You Thanked an Inventor Today is an Amazon Best Seller and is recognized by Microsoft as a book that informs and inspires STEM . It takes its reader on a unique journey into the often overlooked contributions of African-American inventors, and highlights their lasting impact on our daily lives. This book follows the day of a little boy, demonstrating with each page, how African-American minds have greatly enriched our nation's landscape.
Have You Thanked an Inventor Today comes complete with brief biographies about each inventor, as well as fun activities that help encourage reading comprehension and retention. It's also aligned with Common Core and STEM standards. This book is an essential addition to any home or classroom library.
Have You Thanked an Inventor Today is perfect for readers of all ages who are looking to learn and be inspired.
LEXILE MEASUREMENT 810L

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, School

36 pages, Paperback

Published May 18, 2016

About the author

Patrice McLaurin is a Best Selling Author, Image Activist and Owner of Khemrah Publishing, LLC. She has worked to empower and enhance the lives of young people, in varying capacities, for the past two decades.

Patrice was asked to sit on the character education advisory council for the nonprofit, because I said I would, and also served as Subject Matter Expert in the development of Everfi’s online Black History Curriculum, 306- Continuing the Story. Her books have been used to supplement STEM and Social Emotional Learning Curriculum across the nation.

The goal of each of her books is to encourage children to become creators, producers and emotionally intelligent human beings.
Patrice McLaurin is a native of Bessemer, AL and a proud graduate of Alabama A&M University. She currently resides in Dacula, GA with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Ericka Clou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encourages creativity and creation while encouraging diversity and anti-racism. I love it.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book! Definitely a great book for students or children interested in studying inventors! I actually bought this I liked it so much!

[Kinley Schnell]

A young boy is the narrator of this story, and he takes the reader through a day of using everyday objects and telling us who invented them. He says without these people, we would not have been able to get everything done that we need to. He talks about clocks, refrigerators, traffic lights, and lots more. He reminds us that we need to thank them for all the wonderful things they have done!

Response: I thought this book was very insightful. I loved the way it depicted that in day to day life we can overlook the little things, but the author had the young boy talk about the smallest details. Also, the illustrations are beautifully made using vivid colors and imagery.

Classroom: I think I could use this in a lesson plan to have kids do research as to who invented their favorite toy, game, object, etc. I think that if they discover who created this thing that they are so passionate about, it will help them appreciate even more of the beauty behind it.

[Kendall Robinson]

Patrice McLaurin’s Have You Thanked an Inventor Today? is an excellent book about a young boy's awesome journey of thanking and learning about many different african american inventors. As you read through this book each page is filled with illustration and a new inventory to discover and learn about how they helped contribute to our lives based on items we utilize everyday. The book is great for young readers to learn about STEM as well as Social Studies on the African American community. I believe this book would be awesome as a reading time story in helping to transition from different subjects. But also this book will allow the class to have an open discussion for if they were an inventor what would they create? Also as a journal prompt after reading this book.

[Joecel Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Patrice McLaurin is good for kids. It encourages creativity and imagination when it comes to inventing things that you think would be beneficial for the rest of us. I like how the author included the inventions that we use everyday like clock, hair brush, and refrigerator and included the name of the person who invented it. This tells the readers, especially kids that you can be an inventor too! And someday, just like these people, others will use your invention and they can help us with our everyday lives.

[Khearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: This book is about different inventors and all the things they invented. It also makes you think about how different life would be without these inventions.

Rating: I didn’t love this book as much as other ones I have read. I wish it had gone into more detail about how they invented the objects.

Use in Classroom: After reading the book, I would have a bunch of different objects for the students to work with and they would be able to invent something. We would then have a show and tell, where everyone could share what they made and how it works.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

McLaurin weaves Black inventors through the story of a typical day. The rhyming text works to pull readers in to appreciate and think about everything that has been invented. She also challenges them to think about what they can invent. Fun quizzes, etc. at the end of the book.
I appreciate that she fixes the the information on Frederick Jones in the biographies at the end and marks it in the book text.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with wonderful intentions, that missed the mark a bit. Using rhyming text, we are introduced to a number of Black inventors. Traffic lights, refrigerators, and lunch boxes are some of the inventions shared. But with an awkward cadence, and too little information, this book disappoints. It might spur interest in some children to seek out more information and learn about these incredible, creative problem solvers.

[Destiny Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nonfiction book. I love how it gives students real information, but yet remains with fictional illustrations. The book highlights inventors that made an impact in our everyday lives. I also love how it has a question as a title, it makes the students wonder. I love how it highlights the often-overlooked black contribution to the society. African Americans are important, and they are appreciated today, tomorrow and every day.

[Lisa Francese · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an empowering must read/shared read for children, encouraging them too to think in critical, creative, and innovative ways. This book is well-written, beautifully illustrated, age appropriate, fun, informative, and symbolic of how representation matters in children's literature. I hope Patrice McLaurin writes more wonderful books like this, because we need them!

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book reminds children of the names of inventors whose inventions enhance their daily lives. There are very brief biographies of the inventors in the back but they mostly restate what their invention was. I would have liked to see a more in depth biography, at least the dates of their life. I really enjoyed the playful, engaging illustrations.

[Shariel Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I think this book would be great to help aid classroom discussions and start a research project for the kids to find an African American inventor that was not mentioned. I think books like these are important because they teach children the history that textbooks don't always teach. I would recommend this book to future teachers for black history month.

[Christoper Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids were hanging on every page of this book! They loved the illustrations and the way the author depicts the relativity of each invention to their daily lives. They especially enjoyed the activities in the back of the book. This is a great read and I highly recommend it!

[Shanique Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and adorable. I think it also rhymes but I had a bit of trouble following the cadence of the rhythm. This is a great one for teaching kids about black inventors, and has short biographies of each one at the back.

[Cornmaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, rhyming picture books about black inventors and how they changed our lives. Includes questions at the end, and pages that can be filled in with the reader's inventions. There are a couple spots where the scanning of the rhymes doesn't work so smoothly, but overall it's a wonderful book!

[Maggie Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun historical story on how African Americans provided many inventions to America to get us where we are today! It's a children's history lesson on how we need to remember these individuals on their accomplishments to our society.

[KinderWithBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from the writing being kind of clunky to be read aloud and rhymes that don't really rhyme, I did like this book. The illustrations are great and the examples for using the inventions are relevant to the kids. I would read again.

[Camden Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book! Follows the daily life of forgotten inventions created by African Americans. Teaches readers the names and inventions of many people. There is also a brief biography at the end about each inventor.

[Shone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent for curious children who always want to take things apart to see how they are made or if they can put them back together. It sets them on the path of thinking about what they want to be or do as adults. I have enjoyed reading Ms. McLaurin books to children.

[Iyana Cager]

This book is a great book to use in the classroom when wanting to teach students about different inventors. This book can be used in a Kindergarten, First Grade, or even Second Grade classroom to teach them about inventors that helped us gain the things we use in our day-to-day life.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is a little misleading. Not everything is an invention. There is at least one that is an improvement upon someone else's invention.

[Kaitlyn-is-Cool · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would’ve never known all the things created by brilliant African American minds! What can compare to the making of a potato chip or refrigerator? 😂

[Alex Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story really made me think about all the things we use every day. What if they had never been invented? This story will have kids thinking about inventions and could even spark creativity.

[Lois Primeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read with my 5yr-old grandson and realize just how many things that were invented by POC.