Carl Linnaeus: Father of Classification

Great Minds of Science

by Margaret J. Anderson

Profiles the life of the eighteenth-century Swedish naturalist whose scientific naming of plants and animals provided an international language of nature

Genres: Biography, Science

Library Binding

First published July 1, 1997

Reviews

[Correen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book, part of the Great Minds of Science, is targeted at young persons. I am impressed by the thoroughness, interesting writing, and excellent illustrations. Anderson made her subject come alive.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty average book about, you guessed it, Carl Linnaeus. It is a factual book geared for older children and provides good information but really isn’t my cup of tea.

[David Dunlap · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable biography of the Swedish naturalist who developed the binomial nomenclature system used to this day to classify plants and animals. Linnaeus was a pastor's son; his parents both hoped he would follow in his father's footsteps, but that was not to be. Instead, his fascination with plants of all kinds led him into his formal study of medicine. -- The author celebrates Linnaeus's curiosity and enthusiasm, but does not ignore the man's shortcomings and failings. (He was not a particularly good father himself, for example, even forcing his son to follow in *his* footsteps, when he failed to follow his own.) There is an occasional bit of humor, too: Linnaeus had a favorite parrot who would answer "Come in!" whenever there was a knock at the door, confusing visitors who would then enter an otherwise unoccupied room. -- Recommended, especially for the younger readers for whom it was intended.

[Jason Pym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linnaeus is, as you'd expect, a complete obsessive, but also a bit of an adventurer and very charismatic. There are odd paragraphs of his trip to Lapland eating maggot-filled raw fish and sleeping on reindeer skins in his pursuit of lichens. He was a doctor, lectured on the sciences, had a family, all of which just got in the way of his passion for plants. I'd love to read more about the man, a proper in-depth biography.

[Hannah Shaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pre read this for my Form 2 student next year. It is recommended by AFG in cycle 2. Simple, age appropriate biography. there's activities in the back for kids to try. It does mention Darwin a few times, so that's good to be aware of.

[Jessica Perteet]

This was a good biography of Carl Linnaeus that I read out loud for school.

[Rachael Stoldt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good short biography of Carl Lineaus, who created the framework and classification system of naming plants and animals.

[F S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative book.

[Mia Amhal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book “Carl Linnaeus Father of Classification (great mind of science)” written by Margaret J. Anderson is a biography on the scientist Carl Linnaeus. Born on May 23, 1707, none a “The Father Of Classification”. Raised in a house of 4 siblings, a brother and 3 sisters. His father introduced him to his love of botany. Seeing his great mind. Carl’s parents decided to heir a private touter for him. His dad gave him a part of his family’s huge backyard to grow his plants. Two years after he started tutoring he was sent away to boarding school where he wasn’t a very good student and spent most of his time with the plants. The first fact that I learned was that Carl modified the Celsius system. Second, he invented the index card system to record and stare data. Last, Carl became a doctor of medicine after 2 weeks. As one can see Carl Linnaeus was a wise and interesting man.


The three questions that I decided on were: How can the content in your book relate to a career in science? How can the content in your book relate to what you have previously learned or currently are learning in science class? Which branch of science (physical, earth, space, or life science) does the content fall under and why? First, the content in my book could relate to a career of botany because it is mostly about different types of plants. Second, my book’s content could relate to what I previously learned in 5th grade about fertilization and plants. Last, the branch of science that the content would fall over would be, “life science” because it is on living things for example, plants and animals. As one can see these question were interesting to answer.


I would recommend this book to all plant and science lovers because, it will help them see what Carl Linnaeus himself invented for plants, ad many other things. Reading about something that you love and enjoy will make you love it even more. Carl Linnaeus is a very wise and interesting man. I personally liked this book As one can see, many people can learn from Carl Linnaeus.

[David Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to learn about Carl Linnaeus and I found this to be a good introduction to his life. This is a young adult book and is well-written and doesn't read like it was written to scientists with PhDs.