George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist

Heroes of History #1

by Janet Benge, Geoff Benge

Once a kidnapped slave baby, George Washington Carver found freedom in learning everything he could about the world around him. Overcoming poverty and racism, George became a brilliant scientist and a gifted professor who dedicated his expertise to helping black farmers escape the devastating grip of poverty.

George's scientific creativity knew no limits. His ingenious experimentation with peanuts and other plants helped rescue the failing Southern economy. Still remembered for his far-reaching and diverse achievements, Dr. Carver generously shared his talent simply for the reward of helping others (1864?-1943).

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, American History, Christian

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2001

About the author

Janet and Geoff Benge are a husband and wife writing team with twenty years of writing experience. They are best known for the books in the two series Christian Heroes: Then & Now series and Heroes of History. Janet is a former elementary school teacher. Geoff holds a degree in history. Together they have a passion to make history come alive for a new generation. Originally from New Zealand, the Benges make their home in the Orlando, Florida, area.

Reviews

[Daniel Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great man and horticultuist. The book is well written and tells his remarkable and interesting story. Probably best known for teaching black farmers in the Deep South about rotating their cotton crops with peanuts, sweet potatoes & other edible crops. And when the peanuts didn’t have a market like cotton did, Dr Carver invented 300 products for the peanut, including my favorite, peanut butter. From a slave to a man who was known and respected world wide (but still mistreated by many whites who didn’t know who he was). Henry Ford named him as one of the top scientists in the US shortly before his death. Dr Carver shared his knowledge, methods, ideas, inventions, etc with anyone interested and never sought payment.

[Abhy Nadar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without doubt an absolutely amazing book. It is so valuable that it should be a required read for all children everywhere in the world. George Washington Carver is a legend and his life is truly inspirational. There are so many lessons to be learned from this one small book and specially from the life of George Washington Carver. I am glad that I found this book and read it. I regret it that why I had not read it earlier in my younger days. Got education in-spite of such great odds. This is the guy to whom God revealed more than 100 ways to use peanuts. He excelled in recycling stuff, an expert on plants and bugs, excelled at painting, excelled at modest living, excelled at charity, invented dyes, flour from sweet potato, and excelled at teaching.

In his own words he says - "I am not a finisher; I am a blazer of various trails." and "I have just endeavored to do my little bit in the world as fast and as thoroughly as the Great Creator of all things gave me the light and strength."

Some of the best quotes from this book are -
"Someone can always take away your money or belongings from you, but no one can ever steal your education"
"Nations last as long as their topsoil lasts"
"Everyone knows something. Most people know a lot of things. But it is the person who can organize what he or she knows who will get somewhere in life."
"If you live beside a mountain and see it every day, it does not seem high to you; but someone who does not see it often knows that it is high."

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my 6 year old. There is a short description of a lynching and violence that I had to skip with my son but the book was well written and the life of Carver is inspiring beyond words.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist (Heroes of History #1) by Janet Benge, Geoff Benge- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the story of George Washington Carver an Afro- American agricultural scientist. George's mother panicked when she heard the thunder of horses and the whooping of men. Bushwhackers! She pulled her baby close to her chest and stood rooted to the dirt floor in fear. A man stumbled through her doorway. "We got us one, boys!" he yelled, waving his rifle in the air and dragging his captives into the cold night. Once, a kidnapped slave baby, George Washington Carver found freedom in learning everything which he could about the world around him. Overcoming poverty and racism, George became a brilliant scientist and a gifted professor who dedicated his expertise to helping black farmers escape the devastating grip of poverty. His scientific creativity knew no limits. His ingenious experimentation with peanuts and other plants helped rescue the failing Southern economy. Still remembered for his far-reaching and diverse achievements, Dr. Carver generously shared his talent simply for the reward of helping others. This is the guy to whom God revealed more than 100 ways to use peanuts. He excelled in recycling stuff, an expert on plants and bugs, excelled at painting, excelled at modest living, excelled at charity, invented dyes, flour from sweet potato, and excelled at teaching.
In his own words he says - "I am not a finisher; I am a blazer of various trails." and "I have just endeavored to do my little bit in the world as fast and as thoroughly as the Great Creator of all things gave me the light and strength. Some of the best quotes from this book are – (1) "Someone can always take away your money or belongings from you, but no one can ever steal your education" (2) "Nations last as long as their topsoil lasts" (3) "Everyone knows something. Most people know a lot of things. But it is the person who can organize what he or she knows who will get somewhere in life." (4) "If you live beside a mountain and see it every day, it does not seem high to you; but someone who does not see it often knows that it is high." Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the contents of the book.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was awesome. The writing was a little stilted at times, and made for an awkward read-aloud, I think it is one of the first in their series.

However, the actual content was wonderful. I didn't know George Washington Carver had played such an integral role during WWI, or that he had garnered such a following during his life. He was a remarkable man.

The book handled race well, neither ignoring slavery and George's own mistreatment, nor blaming all whites and making the white man out to be the bad guy.

I loved Carver's entire philosophy of reusing, restoring, and finding a solution within nature. It seems like a lot of his teaching has been forgotten and needs to be relearned by farmers (and everyone) today.

I was incredibly impressed. George Washington Carver was a remarkable man and this was just about the perfect biography to learn about him while not being inundated with information. Very impressed.

[Tanya Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspiring story of an incredible, brilliant overcomer! George Washington Carver went through some seriously traumatic events (things for which people today would probably require decades of therapy) but never once stopped to consider victimhood as an option. He did not concern himself with personal gain, but rather considered where he could make the most impact and help the most people. He was frugal, resourceful, inventive, and captivated audiences of all kinds. I just can't imagine what excuses any of us might have today to not accomplish tremendous things. Thank you, George Washington Carver, for your life, your love for humanity (despite it's ugliness), and for exemplifying Christ in all that you did!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I learn about George Washington Carver, the more I want to learn about him. He was an amazing scientist, teacher, student, and presenter. He did it all and was remarkably selfless throughout his prolific life. I’m sure he did something poorly or improperly, because no one is perfect. However, it may be hard to pin down just what that wrong act was.

[Jack]

Evidence that the book meets the "life-changing" or "world-changing" criteria above;




How this book is life-changing Is that George Washington Carver never gave up even when he saw death and in the book, I feel like he is definitely doing the hero's journey, and I think everybody could take from his examples and that you could do anything if you set your mind to it and that is a very important thing to learn about. And that I think it is really important to never give up and how it was life-changing is that he never gave up even when people made fun of him for his color or talked about him behind his back. another example that this book is life changing to me is that




Why this book is critical for your Hero's Journey and how it will challenge you with more complex ideas or a more powerful writing style.




The reason why this book is crucial for your Hero's Journey is that you could actually take the ideas of his hero's journey because he did a lot of stuff with his life, and he's still known today. He had some museums when he started as a poor person, and he never gave up when someone mentioned his color. And he kept on getting famous and he never gave up when his mom and dad and aunt died and he kept pulling thru and i think a lot of people have that same thing happening in there lives and the don’t give up and it’s probably because they know that there family would not want the to give up and i totally agree with everybody who is going thru those thing and this book helps you be reminded that they are cheering you on even if they are died and i totally agree with whoever agrees with me. And i know for sure that is the hero's journey to never give up when things get tough or unfair sometimes and i would like to give a shout out to this book and i feel like this deserves to be a badge book and i think it help people understand that life is some time unfire and not nice to people but it also gives an idea that a lot of people can also be really nice to people who are nice to other people and i do agree with whoever says that to and the person who made this book should give them self a pat on the back i would rate this book a 9/10 and this book was very life changing. And so i definitely recommend this book and i love the style of the book

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Washington Carver is such an inspiring person to read about. What character he showed! His determination and diligence in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, his delight in nature and simple pleasures, his ingenuity, his humility and the fact that he gave glory to God and always sought to help others. I enjoyed this biography for children, and my daughter (L) is enjoying reading it so far as well. It is engagingly written and holds interest well. There is some conversation that seems fictionalized, and no sources are cited throughout -- there is only a very short list of books in a bibliography in the back. It has some parts that would be good to discuss, such as his conversation with God about the peanut -- I'm still unsure whether he meant this literally...? Also, some parts describing brutal, wicked treatment of black people by whites in the South in this time period might be good to skip for very young children or sensitive readers. It is good that we all understand at some point something about the history that has contributed to some of our modern dilemmas, though, without too much glossing over the ugly stuff. Overall, I am pleased with this book, find it a suitable addition to our home library, and will probably read others by the same authors. Maybe best for middle grade readers and up. L is 12 and that's a pretty good fit, though she might skip over some things I marked that she might find disturbing. Less sensitive children might be fine reading it younger, but I would discuss, or read aloud and skip a few things.

[Julio Padilla Mozo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantan las biografías simples, la de George Carver es una de ellas.
Cuando digo simple no hago referencia a su vida, sino a la forma en cómo está escrita en este libro.

Como profesor de ciencia, me interesé debido al enfoque científico que tuvo este hombre en su vida, y sí, se habla constantemente de ciencia en esta biografía. Su enfoque fue el mismo de Pablo “los atributos invisibles de Dios... se hacen claramente visibles desde la creación del mundo”.

Pero consciente de la debilidad humana a causa de pecado, los autores no hacen mención a las debilidades (más que las físicas en el último tramo de su vida) con las que todo hombre que ama a Dios deberá luchar.

Por lo demás, una lectura refrescante para aquellos que aman la ciencia.

[MQR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe that this book, or parts of it, or one similar, had been read to me at elementary school. I recall I went around asking people if they knew who the peanut man was. For the rest of my life, actually, I was able to actually somewhat even 'judge' people by either a cultural intelligence and/or often as to leadership character, really depending on how they answered this very simple question. Now I know why this was so. Anyway the book itself was also quite exceptional and exceeded all of my expectations.

[Mark Krikorian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The target reader for this book is, I believe, 7th or 8th grade readers. I read this book for a second viewpoint on GWC; however, I purchased it without knowledge of the publishers, who write for a Christian audience. Unfortunately, that meant a thinly veiled portrayal of GWC as a Christ figure. Still worth reading for younger readers, but George Washington Carver: A Life (Christina Vella) is better for adult readers.

[Laurie Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written book about and AMAZING man!

I've been drawn to the story of George Washington Carver ever since I first learned about him in Sunday School and one of these days I am going to find a good biography geared for adults! But in the meantime this biography for young adults is so interesting that my husband has been listening with me. (Would it be possible to write about Carver without being interesting?)

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well told story about a truly remarkable man. He was born just before the civil war ended slavery and nearly died as an infant when outlaws kidnapped him with his mother, a slave. But he forged his own path, with a quiet dignity and brilliant mind, until he was one of the most influential men in the country. Loved this biography.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 3 out of 5]

(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).

What an amazing, creative genius. Great story.

[Brettnay Brazzell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous biography! What a man. What a life. We loved how he took morning walks every day to collect specimens and talk to "Mr. Creator". I also loved how the authors made multiple mentions of how GW Carver believed God didn't create anything to be wasted, but that all things have a purpose. There are so many truths to make application from as we read this with our kids.

[Mindy Merritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this story to my children (9 and 11 years old). George's story is a difficult one, but it is told well in this book. We can all learn so much from George's humility, perseverance, and love for humanity. Great story!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a book on GWC when I found this in audio at the library, not realizing it’s meant to be read as a middle school homeschool history book :) I so enjoyed it, though. GWC was so joyfully insatiable in his education, and the betterment of mankind.

[Rachel L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio 2022 with the kids. Absolutely fascinating story and peek into a slice of American history, from the civil war to the depression. We had to skip most of the chapter where he witnesses a lynching.

[Ronald J. Pauleus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really moving and powerful story. I am thankful George Washington Carver allowed God to redeem his story and let God use him in his day and age.

“Someone can always take your money or belongings from you, but no one can ever steal your education.”

[Natalie Ficken · Rating 5 out of 5]

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS IVE EVER READ. Seriously such an honor to learn more about black history, the faith of George Washington carver, & vegetable growing and production.. LOVED. Will keep on my bookshelf forever

[Laurie Hetherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book in the Christian Hero’s series. Note: the intended audience is middle school tween/teen. The writing is not Jane Austen or CS Lewis worthy but the story content is fascinating and true.

What an incredible life George lived. He did not allow society to hold him back.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started slow but was an amazing story of an unbelievable life. George Washington Carver was a man who could be an example of all things worthy and admirable. Obviously he had a unique talent but he was willing to do the hard work to develop and use that talent.
Riveting story!

[Nancy Brandenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book- I learned a lot. He was an amazing man!
It’s so hard to comprehend how terribly back people were treated during his lifetime. He could have been very bitter, but he did not allow himself to be that way. He was a great man of faith.

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching biography! Beware that the book does cover multiple instances of lynchings and other violence with some detail… I had to skip quite a bit because it was too scary for my kids (oldest is 9).

[TJW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the life of a man destined to make a difference, and shown by God how to do it. This is a great high school level book, somewhat immature at times, but overall very good.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun listen. It really held my kids’ attention and prompted questions about segregation.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for early/young readers and/or as an intro to Carver.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I did my work today, I listened to this well written biography. I loved it and have a new found admiration for George Washington Carver! What an amazing man.

[Avid reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring man, and I love this series.