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The 4 Easiest Books About George Washington Carver

Here are the four easiest books on scientist-inventor George Washington Carver.

Carver was born near the end of the American Civil War. The exact date isn't known, but the year is thought to be 1864 and the place, Missouri. He became famous for his work in helping the poor farmer. Years of poor farming practices led to a depletion of soil fertility and Carver worked to educate farmers and to develop new techniques and technologies to help them.


bookcover of Kittinger's George Washington CarverGeorge Washington Carver
(Scholastic News Nonfiction Readers: Biographies)
by Jo. S. Kittinger

No information available. (We did request a sample page but haven't heard back from the publisher.)

Reading Information:
Word Count: 249
Page Count: 24
Accelerated Reading level: 1.9 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 102895
Lexile: 480L
  • Paperback: 24 pages
  • Publisher: Children's Press (2005)
  • ISBN-10: 0516247824


bookcover of Rustad's George Washington CarverGeorge Washington Carver
(First Biographies)
by Martha E. H. Rustad

The First Biographies series features art on the left-hand pages with simple text on the right. Along the bottom of the pages runs a timeline that accumulates dates as the narrative progresses.

These books are generally best used as practice readers that support other materials as the narrative is sketchy.

Reading Information:
Word Count: 228
Page Count: 24
Accelerated Reading level: 2.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 50975
  • Publisher: Capstone Press (2006)
  • ISBN-10: 0736894446


bookcover of Bowdish's George Washington CarverGeorge Washington Carver
(Rookie Biographies)
by Lynea Bowdish

This is a good, upbeat book about the famous scientist. It does a good job covering Carver's life in terms children can understand, and it explains what he accomplished very well. (If you click on an excerpt, most browsers will make the image large enough to easily read.)



exclusive excerpt of Bowdish's George Washington Carver #1
The book begins cheerfully with the question, "Do you know 300 you can make from peanuts?" (next page) "George Washington Carver did. He was a scientist. He found new ways to use crops."

As far as format, there's a picture on every other page, and the text is good sized.

exclusive excerpt of Bowdish's George Washington Carver #2
Reading Information:
Word Count: 433
Page Count: 31
Accelerated Reading level: 2.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 86456
Lexile: 350L




bookcover of Fred and Patricia McKissack's George Washington CarverGeorge Washington Carver: The Peanut Scientist
(Great African Americans)
by Fred and Patricia McKissack

This is a lengthier, more in-depth book for older children. It features fairly large text and a combination of photographs and black-and-white line sketches, and it gives a great deal more information about Carver's life. For example, here is part of the text from the first chapter.
Moses and Susan Carver owned a small farm in Diamond Grove, Missouri. They owned one slave, Mary. She had two small children, James and George.

One day a neighbor came to warn the Carvers. Slave Raiders were in the area. Slave raiders stole slaves and sold them again.

The raiders came late that night. They stole Mary and baby George, and rode away. Moses Carver went after them. They found baby George by the side of the road. They never found Mary.

The Carvers had no children. So they raised James and George as their own. The boys called the Carvers Aunt Susan and Uncle Moses.

exclusive excerpt of McKissack's George Washington Carver #1
There is a lot of good information in this book for the children who are ready for it.
exclusive excerpt of McKissack's George Washington Carver #2
Table of Contents
Stolen in the Night
Why? and How?
Tuskegee Farm
Plant Goobers!
The Wizard of Tuskegee

Words to Know
Index

Reading Information:
Word Count: 1,050
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 3.0 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 14564
Lexile: 400L
  • Publisher: Enslow Elementary; Revised edition (April 2002)
  • ISBN-10: 0766017001

compiled by Pam T

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