In the Garden with Dr. Carver

by Susan Grigsby, Nicole Tadgell (Illustrator)

Overview

Sally is a young girl living in rural Alabama in the early 1900s, a time when people were struggling to grow food in soil that had been depleted by years of cotton production. One day, Dr. George Washington Carver shows up to help the grownups with their farms and the children with their school garden.

He teaches them how to restore the soil and respect the balance of nature. He even prepares a delicious lunch made of plants, including "chicken" made from peanuts. And Sally never forgets the lessons this wise man leaves in her heart and mind. Susan Grigsby's warm story shines new light on an African American scientist who was ahead of his time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807536308
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	09/01/2010
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	431,351
Product dimensions:	10.90(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	990L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

Editorial Reviews

This story highlighting the work of George Washington Carver mixes history and lessons on the ecosystem for young children. The story is set in the rural South as Dr. Carver, a renowned botanist, brings his classroom to the people by roaming the countryside with a wagon filled with examples of his discoveries in the laboratory. In this story related by one of the children present, Dr. Carver visits a group of families just leaving church, focusing especially on the children present. They visit a local garden where he encourages observation of the important interactions of plants and insects and their dependence upon each other. He shows the children how to plant a garden by enriching the soil for greater yields using found materials in nature. The story illustrates that today's organic foods movement is really a return to many of the ideas of Dr. Carver. Hopefully, readers will discover the importance of being close observers and custodians of the natural world. Colorful watercolor illustrations enhance the story and provide the common and Latin names for many plants, insects and animals. A short bio about Dr. Carver is included at the end of the book. Reviewer: Meredith Kiger, Ph.D.

Children's Literature - Meredith Kiger

K-Gr 3—In this story set in the early 1900s, African-American elementary-school students Sally and her classmates get scientific lessons from Dr. George Washington Carver, who arrives in a "funny-looking wagon" pulled by an old mule, his "movable school." Everyone in the small Alabama town has heard of the famous plant scientist, however, and pays attention to what he has to say. The setting seems slightly idealized. The characters look healthy and well-dressed, although they do talk about the difficulties of farming land depleted by years of growing cotton. The focus of the story is on Carver teaching the children about plants though, not economic conditions, so Tadgell's sunny color palette, rich with earth tones, is appropriate. Sally, in a bright red dress and white pinafore, stands out in the gardening spreads. The watercolor illustrations include many humorous asides of children acting like children—making horrified faces as they taste Dr. Carver's menu of "chicken" made from peanuts and wild-weed salad, or being silly with friends when they are supposed to be listening. Scientific and historical information is well-presented through the gentle text and lighthearted illustrations. Teachers will find many uses for this appealing book.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

School Library Journal

Tadgell's watercolors add both playful side business and accurate botanical illustration to this admiring child's account of the famous scientist's stopover in a rural community. George Washington Carver often spent weekends visiting settlements around Tuskegee with his "movable school" to dispense information about reclaiming depleted farmland, recycling and good agricultural practices. Avidly absorbing his injunctions to look closely at the natural world and to understand its interrelationships before changing or destroying anything, the young narrator and other children move a rose bush to a sunnier spot, make nature drawings, sample ice cream and other foods made from peanuts and "strange wild weeds," then help dig and plant a garden outside their schoolhouse. Though fictionalized, the encounter presents Carver's work and ideas in a simple, engaging way that will stay with young readers until they're ready for Marilyn Nelson's soaring Carver: A Life in Poems (2001). The endpapers present lovely illustrations of flora and fauna, complete with common and Latin names, and an author's note provides additional background on Carver's career. (Picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews