Overview
Junior Library Guild Selection | Eureka! Excellence in Nonfiction Honor | CBC Best STEM Book List | Mathical Book Prize Honor | BCALA Youth Literary Nonfiction Award | Communication Arts Illustration Shortlist Meet Jerry Lawson, the Black engineer who revolutionized the video game industry, in this engaging picture book biography perfect for fans of Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions and Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History. Before Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch, there was a tinkerer named Jerry Lawson. As a boy, Jerry loved playing with springs, sprockets, and gadget-y things. When he grew up, Jerry became an engineer—a professional tinkerer—and in the 1970s, he turned his technical know-how to video games. Back then, if players wanted a new video game, they had to buy an entire new console, making gaming very expensive. Jerry was determined to fix this problem, and despite roadblocks along the way and having to repeat a level or two, it was never game over for his mission. Eventually, he leveled up and built a brand-new kind of video game console: one that allowed players to switch out cartridges! He also founded Video Soft, Inc., the first African American–owned video game company in the country. Jerry’s tinkering and inventions changed the video gaming world forever. Today, gamers have access to hundreds of video games at the push of a button, all thanks to him. Game on!
Full Product Details
Author: Don Tate ,
Cherise Harris
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Imprint: Simon & Schuster
Dimensions:
Width: 29.20cm
, Height: 1.00cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.515kg
ISBN: 9781665919081
ISBN 10: 1665919086
Pages: 40
Publication Date: 28 September 2023
Recommended Age: From 4 to 8 years
Audience:
Children/juvenile
,
Children / Juvenile
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.
Reviews
"""Harris’ vivid illustrations and graphics complement Tate’s engaging text. Enticing and inspiring fare."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""Readers will understand that Lawson was a dedicated, determined, and inventive man who paved the way for video games and Black entrepreneurs."" -- Booklist"
"""Readers will understand that Lawson was a dedicated, determined, and inventive man who paved the way for video games and Black entrepreneurs."" -- Booklist"
Author Information
Don Tate is the award-winning creator of numerous picture book biographies, including Pigskins to Paintbrushes: The Story of Football-Playing Artist Ernie Barnes and William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad. He is a founding host of The Brown Bookshelf, a website that celebrates the myriad of African American voices writing for young readers. Tate’s accolades include an Ezra Jack Keats Book Award and Honor, a Carter G. Woodson Book Award and Honor, two Christopher Awards, and several others. He lives with his family in Austin, Texas, and he invites you to visit him online at DonTate.com. Cherise Harris is an illustrator from Barbados. Her work centers around an interest in fairy tale and its role in telling deep and meaningful stories. Cherise uses pencil, watercolor, and clay, exploring her ideas in both 2D and 3D form. She also uses Photoshop to create digital art and gifs. She received her associate degree in visual arts at the Barbados Community College, her BFA in illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and most recently completed her master’s in illustration at Falmouth University in the UK. Cherise currently lives back home in Barbados with her husband, Ryan, and her daughter.
