Review
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♦ A tinkering 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 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 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.
- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
♦ Homemade robots, space probes, pressurized water s—the
story of African-American inventor Lonnie Johnson is tailor-made
for a young audience, and Barton and Tate do it justice in this
inspiring account of a man driven toward innovation against the
odds. Johnson's interest in engineering blossomed at an early
age, and he went on to work on NASA's Galileo project and design
what would become the popular Super Soaker water . Barton
makes clear how Johnson struggled in his unconventional line of
work, and also shows the rewards of his persistence. Tate's
inviting digital illustrations bring an appropriately playful air
to the pages, especially in a foldout spread showing the Super
Soaker's blast in all of its glory.
- Publishers Weekly, starred review
This picture book biography tells the story of Lonnie Johnson,
kid rocket launcher, teen robot builder, adult NASA engineer, and
inventor of the Super Soaker water toy. The story documents his
perseverance in overcoming obstacles, some stemming from being
African American--a school aptitude test that indicated he was
not cut out to be an engineer, the prejudice he and his
high-school team experienced while winning the 1968 University of
Alabama science fair, and professional doubts concerning his
abilities. The narrative also covers his initial failure at
becoming a self-employed entrepreneur, remedied only by the
hard-won success of the Super Soaker. The text emphasizes the
continuing support he received from his family, and the vibrant
illustrations are especially effective at capturing expressions
and mannerisms that bring Johnson to life (as when Johnson and
his fellow Tuskegee Institute students party to a sound and light
system constructed from leftover electronics). This upbeat
tribute makes an engaging and inspiring addition to STEM
collections.
- Booklist
As a child, Lonnie Johnson was a "tinkerer," or an avid collector
of pieces and parts--all things that were considered scrap but
that to Johnson were perfectly ripe for new applications. Early
projects included rockets, a robot, and a powerful sound system
for parties. Johnson's engineering degree took him to NASA, where
he worked on the Galileo orbiter and probe. What Johnson really
wanted to do, however, was build his own inventions. When trying
to find an environmentally friendly solution to refrigerator and
air-conditioning cooling systems, he stumbled upon what would
eventually become his opus, the Super Soaker. Readers follow the
many obstacles and setbacks Johnson experienced as he tirelessly
worked to launch his invention. The narrative--based primarily on
personal interviews the author had with Johnson--adeptly captures
the passion and dedication necessary to be an engineer. The
cartoonlike illustrations, rendered digitally with Manga Studio,
combine child appeal with enough realism to accurately convey
various scientific elements. Great care is taken to portray the
institutional racism Johnson experienced, such as school tests
that tried to dissuade his interest in engineering and his
competing in a 1968 science fair in the newly desegregated but
unwelcoming University of Alabama. The author's note explains
Barton's mission to diversify common perceptions of what
scientists and engineers look like and who they can be. This
engaging and informative picture book exploration of Johnson's
life succeeds in that right. VERDICT Highly recommended for STEM
and maker collections.
- School Library Journal
What do a computer memory power backup system and a squirt on
steroids have in common? Inventor Lonnie Johnson. An avid
tinkerer since childhood, Johnson had become the only black high
school student by 1968 to advance to the science-fair competition
held at the University of Alabama, where his robot Linex took
first place. After graduating from Tuskegee, he worked for NASA
on the backup power system for the Galileo mission to Jupiter,
and then went solo as an inventor. While working on a component
for a refrigeration system, he serendipitously fashioned the
power blaster that would, years later, become the Super Soaker.
While that popular toy has become the public pinnacle of his
career, Johnson is still very much in the invention game,
currently developing an advanced solar-energy system. Johnson’s
story is both delightful and inspiring, featuring a
long-suffering family that tolerated his destructive, even
explosive, experiments; the financial ups and downs of an
entrepreneur; and his solo work and team work. Endpapers point
toward a portfolio of inventions that range from “Seriously?” (a
musical diaper) to “Wow!” (Johnson Thermoelectric Energy
Converter). The text and author’s note, however, offer little
more than an enthusiastic outline of a long career, with plenty
of research holes left to fill. Why he left NASA to be
self-employed, how he survived the financially rough years, and
how his green technology work is coming along are all issues
about which kids may reasonably ask. Digital artwork is
serviceable and should stand up well for a group read aloud.
Barton refers to a personal interview with Johnson, but no
further source notes are included.
- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
From childhood, African American inventor Johnson was a tinkerer:
"Lonnie loved building and creating. Ideas for inventions just
kept on flowing." We learn about how young Lonnie made model
rockets--and rocket fuel ("When it caught fire in the kitchen,
Lonnie's mom didn't make him stop. She just sent him to work
outside")--and how in 1968 the robot he built won first place at
a science fair held at the University of Alabama, "where only
five years earlier, African American students hadn't even been
allowed." We learn of his college life at Tuskegee Institute (he
was known to study even during his own parties, complete with a
light-and-sound system he created); his breakthrough engineering
work for NASA; and his development of a super-blast water .
Barton describes Johnson's ups and downs before he finally sold
his Super Soaker to a toy company, but the straightforward text
has a generally upbeat, you-can-do-it attitude. Tate's clear
digital illustrations, with their time-period-appropriate details
in decor and clothing (from pegged jeans to bell-bottoms to
cut-off shorts with knee socks) help situate readers; there's no
timeline provided (or even a birth year for Johnson). An appended
note discusses Barton's inspiration--to draw attention to
diversity within the scientific community--and encourages readers
to "put this book down, step away from the computer screen, and
get permission to take something apart." Terrific front and back
endpapers provide simple schematics of some of Lonnie Johnson's
inventions.
- The Horn Book Magazine
This appealing, inspiring picture-book biography by Chris Barton
(Shark vs. Train; The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch), illustrated
by Don Tate (Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton),
explores the life of Lonnie Johnson, the African American rocket
scientist who invented the Super Soaker water ... by accident.
Lonnie grew up in the 1950s with five siblings "squeezed into
their parents' small house in Mobile, Alabama." Forever tinkering
with spare parts and junkyard scraps, he made rockets from
scratch, and even built his own robot named Linex with jukebox
switches and his little sister's walkie-talkie: "Lonnie used a
tape recorder to program Linex, and as a bonus the reels looked
like eyes." (Linex won first place for Lonnie's team at a 1968
University of Alabama science fair.) Lonnie, "a self-confident,
inful, creative thinker," went to college at Tuskegee
Institute, then, as an engineer, worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. At NASA, he created a lightweight backup system for
the Galileo space probe that photographed Jupiter and its moons.
At home one day, Lonnie was working on a new refrigerator and
air-conditioning cooling system, using the faucet in his bathroom
sink with a hose, pump and nozzle, when "WHOOSH!"--water sprayed
out with such force he decided his contraption "would make a
great water ." He approached toy company after toy company
with his invention until finally, he struck gold. Barton's clean,
lively prose and Tate's boldly composed, often comical
illustrations--including a dramatic gatefold capturing the Super
Soaker's mighty trajectory--make Lonnie Johnson's story of
passion and persistence whoosh to life.
- Shelf Awareness
". . .exuberant. . . " -World Magazine
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About the Author
----------------
Chris Barton is the award-winning, best-selling author of
several books for children, including Shark vs. Train (Little,
Brown) and The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe
Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors. He lives in Austin,
Texas.
Don Tate is an award-winning author and illustrator of many
books for children. His illustrated books include The Cart That
Carried Martin and Hope's Gift (Putnam). He is also both author
and illustrator of It Jes' Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to
Draw (Lee & Low) as well as Poet: The Remarkable Story of George
Moses Horton (Peach Tree). He lives in Austin, Texas.
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