Black inventor

All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine

by Monica Kulling

illustrated by Bill Slavin

Elijah McCoy wanted to be a mechanical engineer. But the only job he could get was shovelling coal on a train. It was tough work, especially for the grease monkeys who oiled the engines. So Elijah invented an oil cup to keep the engine greased and the train running smoothly.

A well-told story perfectly complemented by Slavin’s expressive pictures. A poem called Get on Board, which begins the book, movingly shows McCoy’s connection to the railroad.