Young Trailblazers: The Book of Black Inventors and Scientists

Illustrator and designer Kim Balacuit has previously worked with Sesame Street and Abrams Books. Young Trailblazers: The Book of Black Inventors and Scientists (Dragonfruit), a collaborative project with writer and educator M.J. Fievre, is a salute to Black pioneers in literature, entertainment, science, education, business, military, sports, spirituality, and more. It’s a journey populated by figures we know – such as Katherine Johnson, George Washington Carver, and Madam C.J. Walker – but many we don’t, such as James West, a critical figure in the invention of the microphone, and Garrett Morgan, inventor of the traffic signal.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. Fievre is a longtime educator and writer. A seasoned K–12 teacher, she has taught creative writing workshops to children at the O Miami Poetry Festival and the Miami Art Museum, and at schools in Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia), Port-au-Prince (Haiti), and South Florida. She is also the coordinator of Miami Book Fair’s ReadCaribbean program and directs and produces the children’s cultural show Taptap Krik? Krak! Young Trailblazers: The Book of Black Inventors and Scientists (Dragonfruit), a collaborative project with illustrator Kim Balacuit, is a salute to Black pioneers in literature, entertainment, science, education, business, military, sports, spirituality, and more. It’s a journey populated by figures we know – such as Katherine Johnson, George Washington Carver, and Madam C.J. Walker – but many we don’t. Consider James West, a critical figure in the invention of the microphone, or Garrett Morgan, who invented the traffic signal.

Thomas B. Logan is the illustrator behind the children’s book series A Cat Named Sam and the host of the well-loved podcast Red Bandana Gaming.