George Washington Carver for kids
The Man Who Fed the Soil
- Say it
- JORJ WASH-ing-tun KAR-ver
- Lived
- about 1864–1943
George Washington Carver was a plant scientist and teacher. He was born into slavery, worked hard to get an education, and spent his life helping poor farmers grow better crops and feed their families.
A hard beginning
George was born around 1864 on a farm near Diamond, Missouri. He was born enslaved, and no one wrote down his exact birthday. When he was a baby, raiders kidnapped George and his mother. George was found and brought back, but his mother was never found. After slavery ended, Moses and Susan Carver, the farm couple who had owned his family, raised George and his brother Jim.
The plant doctor
George was often sick as a boy, so he did lighter chores and spent hours in the woods. He loved plants and learned how to nurse sick ones back to health. Neighbors called him the plant doctor. George was a man of deep Christian faith all his life, and he saw God's work in every leaf and flower.
Never giving up on school
As a young boy, George left home to go to school in a nearby town. Later, a college turned him away because he was Black. That was wrong, but George did not quit. He studied art at Simpson College in Iowa and then plant science at Iowa State, where he was the first Black student. He earned two degrees there.
Feeding the soil at Tuskegee
In 1896, Booker T. Washington asked George to teach at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. George said yes and stayed for the rest of his life. Many farmers in the South grew cotton year after year, and it wore out the soil. George taught them to take turns planting crops like peanuts, sweet potatoes, and peas, which put good nutrients back into the ground. He even drove a wagon full of tools and seeds out to farms, a school on wheels.
So many uses for peanuts
To help farmers sell their new crops, George found hundreds of uses for peanuts and sweet potatoes, from foods to dyes. Many people think he invented peanut butter, but he didn't. People had made it before him. In 1921, he spoke to the United States Congress about peanuts, and his talk was so interesting they let him keep going long past his time. George died in 1943.
Questions to talk about
- Why do you think a plant would need a doctor?
- George was turned away from a college but kept going. What helps you keep going when something is hard?
- Why would giving soil a rest help plants grow?
Common questions
Who was George Washington Carver?
George Washington Carver (about 1864–1943) was an American plant scientist and teacher at Tuskegee Institute who taught farmers to rotate crops and found hundreds of uses for peanuts and sweet potatoes.
Did George Washington Carver invent peanut butter?
No. Peanut butter existed before his work. He did find hundreds of other uses for peanuts.
What age is this book for?
The Coloring History book about George Washington Carver is written for kids ages 6–10, with short pages a first grader can read alone.
Color George's whole story
The Coloring History book about George Washington Carver has 18 scenes to color, each with a short, easy page about what really happened. Ages 6–10, paperback.