Sarah E. Goode was born into slavery in Toledo, Ohio in 1855. When the Civil War ended she was granted her freedom and she and her family moved to Chicago. There she married Archibald "Archie" Goode. They had six children, of whom three would live to adulthood.

Sarah’s father had been a woodworker, and he taught her his skills. She and Archie worked in a furniture store, and Sarah saved money to open one of her own. Meanwhile, every day she heard customers complain about their crowded living conditions. Maybe, she thought, she could build a piece of furniture that would help her customers save space.

She designed a bed that was a desk by day that folded into a bed at night. She needed a patent for it, which the author explains, and she got an attorney to help her apply for one. After a year, she received a denial that told her her invention was too similar to others already patented. She carefully explained how and why her bed was different, and on July 14, 1885, she was granted Patent No. 322 177.

In an author’s note, Kirkfield explains that many of the details of Sarah’s life are unknown, but the author speculated about it from what was known at the time. For example, she knew that Sarah opened her furniture store at a time when women could not even vote or own property.

The author writes:

“The cabinet bed became extremely popular because it allowed people to save space. Sarah’s invention inspired other similar innovations in furniture. The Murphy bed, which folded up into a closed, was created in 1916. Today all over the world, in homes, hotels, and businesses, millions of fold-away beds are in use.”

After the note, there is a more detailed explanation of patents than in the main portion of the story, a timeline about Sarah’s life (she died at age 49 in 1905), a timeline of Black women patent holders., and selected sources.

Although the author doesn’t mention it, in 2012, the Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy (formerly known as Southwest Area High School project) a science and math-focused high school, was opened in Sarah’s honor on the south side of Chicago. It is part of the Chicago Public Schools Urban Model High School (UMHS).

Illustrator Chris Ewald uses a muted palette heavy in brown, black, and sepia to impart a historical feel to the story. However, except for the characters’ skin tones, they didn’t look so African American to me, which I thought did not quite do justice to who they were. ( )