The Groundbreaking, Chance-Taking Life of George Washington Carver and Science and Invention in America

The multitalented hand of Cheryl Harness creates another winning combination of history, biography, and illustration: the inspiring story of a man who rose from slavery to worldwide fame as America’s Plant Doctor. Follow the action as Confederate raiders kidnap young Carver—along with his mother and siblings—and sell them to Arkansas slaveholders. Here, whooping cough threatens George’s life, yet the disease will be the key to his future. Unable to work in the fields, he spends his days studying plants. His desire for knowledge leads him to the rich farmlands of Iowa, where he becomes the first black student—and later the first black faculty member—at the state university. Carver pioneers hundreds of new uses for plants and revolutionizes American agriculture by teaching farmers the value of rotating cotton with nitrogen-rich crops.