Kid Innovators: True tales of childhood from inventors and trailblazers by Robin Stevenson, illustrated by Allison Steinfeld

 I've always had mixed feelings about the Kid Legends series. On the one hand, they've got a brisk and peppy narrative style that attracts kids and cartoon-style art that is also a draw. On the other hand, I had a lot of criticisms of the first book, the childhoods of American presidents, which has generally made me put these titles on the back burner whenever they come up in collection development.

However, it's been many years and their latest title, Kid Innovators seemed like a good choice of subject, so I decided to take a fresh look at the series. I was also interested to see where a new author (and illustrator) would take things.

The format of each story is similar - a chapter heading and brief paragraph encapsulates the subject's contribution and significance, then there is a narrative of their childhood for an average of 10 pages. The end of the narrative brings together their childhood experiences and how they affected their adult life. There are additional sections providing context for some of the stories as well. The book also includes an introduction, lengthy bibliography, and index.

Each part profiles four innovators. The tech section features Grace Hopper, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Reshma Saujani. Exploration includes Jacques Cousteau, Wilbur and Orville Wright, William Kamkwamba, and Elon Musk. "Cracking codes and saving lives" features Alan Turing, Hedy Lamarr, Jonas Salk, and Florence Nightingale. The final section is general "Trailblazers" and includes Maria Montessori, Madam C. J. Walker, Walt Disney, and Alvin Ailey.

This is 16 total biographies, counting the Wright brothers as one. Of these 16, 8 are white men, 4 are white women, and four are men and women of color. I would argue that Jobs, Gates, Cousteau, the Wrights, Musk, Disney, and Nightingale will be generally familiar, if not well-known, by most children. Four are still alive and/or active (Gates, Saujani, Kamkwamba, Musk). My conclusion is that the book is somewhat diverse, but it could have definitely done better on this front.

Especially with inventors like the Wright brothers, the emphasis is on the classic "lone inventor" stereotype, with little or no acknowledgment of the contribution and influence of others. The controversial behavior of some of the subjects is quickly glossed over (Disney, Jobs, Musk) especially as regards racism or their treatment of employees.

Despite these critiques, the stories are well-written, there are extensive suggestions for further reading, and it's a very browseable book that will get kids interested in learning more about the various people. Also, this will satisfy that one kid who keeps asking me for books about some specific Tesla car. I hope.

Verdict: This is an acceptable additional purchase for kids who like narrative-style biographies with a fillip of humor and illustration. Make sure you have more in-depth biographies available for reports and research and have purchased similar, but more diverse collections like Vashti Harrison's work, then indulge in these for those voracious readers who have zipped through all the Who Was books and are eager for more.

ISBN: 9781683692270; Published February 2021 by Quirk; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library