A Weed Is a Flower : The Life of George Washington Carver [Paperback]

Aliki (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1988 | Age Level: 4 and up

Brief text and pictures present the life of the man, born a slave, who became a scientist and devoted his entire life to helping the South improve its agriculture.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (April 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671664905
• ISBN-13: 978-0671664909
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Agriculture
  • #5 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Agriculture
  • #7 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( A ) > Aliki

More About the Author

Aliki is the author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children that are treasured by readers all over the world. Her many well-loved titles include My Visit to the Zoo, My Visit to the Aquarium, My Visit to the Dinosaurs, Wild and Woolly Mammoths, Tabby, and Those Summers. Aliki lives near the Globe theater, in London, England.

In Her Own Words..."Aliki grew up in Philadelphia in a big Greek family where everyone was busy creating and sharing their activities. She knew from the time she was in kindergarten that she wanted to bean artist, although music was also a natural talent. She was encouraged throughout her early life by her parents and by teachers she will never forget."She graduated from the Philadelphia Collegeof Art and started a career in advertising art. After she married Franz Brandenberg, Aliki continued her career in his country, Switzerland, where they lived for three years. It was there that she wrote and illustrated her first book, The Story of William Tell, which was published in England. When they moved to New York, Aliki wrote and illustrated My Five Senses--the book that changed the direction of her career and her life.

Although she had never thought of being a writer, Aliki has been making books ever since. Children's books, she says, are a combination of two things I love: words and pictures. I also love the privacy of books--both reading them and making them. Aliki writes fiction, in which she can express her feelings, and nonfiction research books about subjects she's interested in and wants to know more about. Each book is a new challenge; each is different, she says. The subject directs the way I illustrate a book, the same way friends bring out different parts of us. The challenge is to get the words right and then to make pictures that expand and enhance their meaning.""Besides her own books, Aliki has illustrated many written by Franz Brandenberg and other authors. Her two children are also in the arts. Jason is a filmmaker and Alexa is a children's book author-illustrator. They appear in almost all of her books as cats, mice, or themselves.

Aliki loves music, theater, cinema, museums, children, her cat, Nefertiti, and working in her garden in London, where she lives. She travels frequently to the U.S., Greece, Switzerland, and other parts of the world, though most of the time she is alone in her studio with the books she is working on--and Mozart."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dramatic and engaging, August 3, 2000

By 

"reviewer1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Weed Is A Flower (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (School & Library Binding)

What my (now 6 yo) daughter likes is a good story. She can learn anything if there is some dramatic action involved. This story of George Washington Carver's life is just the right length for a young student (kinder to 4th grade). It starts with the drama of the baby GWC being kidnapped and returned. The illustrations are bold and capture the flavor of the text. It's everything you want in a child's book, educational, morally inspiring, and yet a truly good to read story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bought for homeschool, December 26, 2008

By 

K. Chipman (HI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Weed Is a Flower : The Life of George Washington Carver (Paperback)

I just love Amazon! This book was part of our homeschool curriculum and was not available at our local library. I bought it at a reasonable price here and donated it! I can't imagine this book not being part of a library!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully told and illustrated, February 11, 2011

By 

Always Reading (Willingboro, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Weed Is a Flower : The Life of George Washington Carver (Paperback)

My 6-year-old son had to write an essay about George Washington Carver. I decided to purchase this book to get him interested in the life of GWC as well as a reference book for the basic facts. I was not disappointed. This well-written tale is very engrossing and my son had many questions to ask about GWC's life; he asked about slavery, about why GWC was kidnapped with his mother as a baby, as well as why young GWC was not allowed to attend school just anywhere, and so on. My son, who attends a school where he is a minority as a white child, was confused and horrified to learn that a time ever existed where people were owned and sold like property, a time when a child could not attend school based on the color of his skin. I'll admit I was a little uncomfortable at first with the deluge of questions. I was unsure just how detailed to be with a 6 year old, how to present the hard truths gently without blunting the reality that slaves faced. But amazingly, his new mind handled the concepts with amazing maturity, and his genuine shock made me grateful that he goes to a school where diversity is so strong that he doesn't even notice skin color; it is just natural variety in his young mind, like the color of your eyes or hair.

The illustrations are lovely and my son paused to look over them before and after reading each page. By the time we got to the end, I had tears in my eyes. What a moving story brought to vivid life with beautiful, colorful illustrations and simple, reverent writing about a man who rose above his humble beginnings and through diligence and perseverance became an inspiration for people of ALL colors.

Though this is a fact-based story, it IS a story, to be read and enjoyed from beginning to end, so it does not serve well as a quick reference guide--though it is by no means very long, and it does contain important factual details about GWC's life. However, for quick dates and specifics, you might have to consult other sources.