The Flower Hunter: William Bartram, America's First Naturalist (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12) [Hardcover]

Deborah Kogan Ray (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12

Little botanist / first naturalist

Of John Bartram's nine children, it is William who best loves nature and wants to follow in his father's footsteps. William dreams of accompanying his father as he explores the wilderness of colonial America as botanist to the King of England in search of plant specimens. Using journals, maps, and her own vibrant paintings, Deborah Kogan Ray tells the captivating story of Billy's first trip to the Catskill Mountains and his further adventures as an adult, including a long, perilous journey into the remote wilderness.

A bibliography, biographical notes, and list of plant discoveries complete this remarkable book about America's first naturalist.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5-Ray traces the development of Bartram's passion for learning about nature, first as an assistant to his father, botanist John Bartram, and then as a partner with unique interests of his own. Told through first-person journal entries, the story begins on William's eighth birthday in 1747 and follows his developing observational and drawing skills, his friendship with Benjamin Franklin, and the various expeditions he took with his father through the northeast colonies. An adult William accompanied the elder Bartram to Florida, then stayed there for 10 years to explore the flora and fauna of this wild land and became friends with various Native peoples, including the Seminole, who christened him "Puc Puggy" (flower hunter). An afterword fills in some of the gaps left by the narrative and offers a detailed listing of the many specimens identified by the Bartrams. The delicate watercolor-and-gouache illustrations capture the quiet joy that William found in nature, and the accompanying text is printed against a parchment background that simulates his diary, complete with labeled pencil sketches of plants and animals. The journal format means skipping great portions of Bartram's life, which is a bit jarring; major events, such as the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, are briefly mentioned. Overall, however, this quiet book is a fitting tribute to a dedicated and talented naturalist.
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Graced with appealing illustrations, this handsome book introduces naturalist William Bartram. The story begins with eight-year-old William helping his father, botanist John Bartram, find, cultivate, and study native American plants. As William grows up, he accompanies his father on expeditions to gather new plants and develops his skills in drawing plants and animals. Beginning in 1747 and ending in 1777, the story is based on fact but written as a series of fictional journal entries. The subjects are not all botanical. William also brings in political events, the family's friendship with Benjamin Franklin, religious beliefs, and sometimes-dangerous expeditions in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The last pages include a hand-colored engraving by William Bartram, biographical notes on William and his father, a list of some of the plants they first identified, an author's note, and a source bibliography. Large watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations interpret the story with great warmth and beauty. This unique book offers students a different perspective on life in eighteenth-century America. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374345899
• ISBN-13: 978-0374345891
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,119,252 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Kogan Ray is a painter and printmaker, who became an illustrator when she discovered she could take words, and make them into images. She became a writer when she discovered she take images and turn them into words. A self -described "research junky", she now specializes in writing and illustrating biographies about "people who should be much better known". She has written and illustrated 18 books and illustrated 54 in her career. Her books have received many awards, including the Coretta Scott King, Parents Choice and Bank Street Honors, 'Notables' from the American Library Association, NCSS/CBC for social studies, National Science Teachers of America, the International Reading Association, and state reading associations. Her books have been featured on Book-TV, and Reading Rainbow. Her latest title Wanda Gag: The Girl Who Lived to Draw, published by Viking/Penguin in 2008, was picked by on-line reviewers for the "Cybil" award in non-fiction, and won an ALA Notable for 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a very fine book about a remarkable man, June 11, 2005

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Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Flower Hunter: William Bartram, America's First Naturalist (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12) (Hardcover)

This is a fine children's book about the life of William Bartram, one of America's early and great naturalists. The story is told in the form of a journal, written by the young William, and is accompanied by helpful maps and vivid illustrations of scenes from his various journeys. Begun on his eighth birthday, the brief but evocative journal entries tell of the boy's early interest in botany, and of his longing to accompany his father John Bartram on his explorations of the newly colonized Americas. He learns to make detailed renderings of leaves, and to identify the various types of plants in the region. Historical details are introduced casually, in the matter-of-fact manner of a child. He tells, for example, of a war between the British and the French that caused them to cancel a journey, or of his encounter with a friend of his father's -- Benjamin Franklin!! - who explains to him the marvels of electricity. We eventually see the young boy grow into a man, who is both sensitive to nature and respectful of the diverse cultures of the various inhabitants of the land. Particularly poignant is the subtle manner in which the author portrays the young man's attachment to and feeling for his aging father, as indicated in a pivotal scene where the son must rescue his father from drowning. Or in a later scene when William brings stories of a lovely but as-yet unnamed tree. His father has lost his vision, and cannot see the drawings that his son brings home for him, but together they name the species Franklinia, in honor of their mutual friend. In an informative afterward, the author points out that this tree has only survived today due to the plantings of it that Bartram made on his farm. This is a very simple and unassuming story, about a remarkable man, that can be appreciated by both young and old. It introduced me to a part of American history that I knew little about, and even inspired my two children to begin journals of the things they discover in nature.