“The Groundbreaking, Chance-Taking Life of
George Washington Carver and Science & Invention in America” by Cheryl
Harness (National Geographic Children's Books, 9781426301964, $16.99, 144
pages, ages 9 to 12)
This brand-new illustrated biography describes the dramatic life and many
discoveries of one of America’s most decorated and admired scientists. Born
near Joplin, Missouri, and raised partly in Kansas, George Washington Carver
used his talents and his great curiosity about the natural world to promote
better farming and to improve the lives of millions, especially African
Americans in the South.
Written and drawn by Independence, Missouri-based author Cheryl Harness, the
book begins with Carver’s birth just before the Civil War, when Missouri was
a border state plagued by violent disputes over slavery. After young
George’s mother was kidnapped by raiders, his mother’s white owners raised
him as a nephew, encouraging his artistic ability and his hungry mind.
George became fascinated with plants and wildlife, and he soon became known
by neighbors as the “Plant Doctor” due to his green thumb.
Because he was black, George was turned away from school until he was
twelve, and for many years thereafter he had to work very hard just to gain
an education. As a teenager and young man, he washed laundry to support
himself while attending high school and working in Fort Scott, Olathe, and
Minneapolis, Kansas. Although he gained admittance to Highland College in
northeast Kansas, he was denied a place there because of his race. Finally,
George found acceptance at colleges in Iowa, where he pursued his study of
art, plants, fungus, and agriculture.
After earning his Master’s degree, Carver became a researcher and a
professor, and in 1896 he went to teach at Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute, a
famous school created for black students. Carver’s career took off from that
point as he became a internationally respected expert in scientific
agriculture, a renowned speaker, and a beloved teacher. His incredible
experiments into different uses for crops like peanuts and sweet potatoes
gained him ever more respectful nicknames, like “Goober Wizard,” “Peanut
Man,” and the “Sage of Tuskegee.” When he died in 1943 at the age of
seventy-eight, his gravestone described him as a man who “found happiness
and honor in being helpful to the world.”
This book on Carver is the latest in the Cheryl Harness History series from
National Geographic. Each book explores an era in American history through
the life and experiences of a notable American. Earlier titles focused on
Theodore Roosevelt and American empire, Daniel Boone and the early American
frontier, and Narcissa Whitman and the Oregon Trail. A forthcoming title
will follow Washington Irving and American folklore. Each book is filled
with detailed pictures, timelines of important national and world events,
and a full index with a list of sources. They are excellent history
resources for teachers and young readers from an author so close to home
she’s almost a local.
Review by
Mark David
Bradshaw, February 20, 2008
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