Did you know George Washington was more than our nation’s first president and a general of the U.S. military? He was a farmer!
The third book in our Kids’ Reading List series is Farmer George Plants a Nation by Peggy Thomas and illustrated by Layne Thomas. As George Washington was forging ahead to form a new nation, he was also creating a self-sufficient farm at Mount Vernon, Virginia. Did you know the president planted trees, bred mules and experimented with many crops including wheat? He mixed his own fertilizers and compost to help grow shrubs and vegetables. He designed a barn where his workers could thresh grain indoors. He even invented a plow that not only tilled the soil but also planted seeds!
Ideal for kids in grades 3 through 5, the book includes excerpts of the president’s writings, a timeline, resource section and essays with beautiful oil-painted illustrations of Farmer George at work in Colonial America.
Check back next week for another fun read!
Thanks to Holly Spangler for compiling this list, which was featured in the March 2012 issue of Farm Futures magazine.
Check out the past selections in the reading list.
- Who Grew My Soup? by Tom Darbyshire and illustrated by C.F. Payne
- Oh, Say Can You Seed? by Bonnie Worth
This is one of my favorite children’s biography books of all time! We love it in my house and I’m so glad you featured it. We also like “Big George: How a Shy Boy Became President Washington” by Anne Rockwell–she writes incredible biographies for children. “They Called Her Molly Pitcher” is another by Rockwell we really like, too. Thanks so much for sharing “Farmer George Plants a Nation” with your readers.
PS: Will you post a link to Holly’s list?
Sure! The article is in PDF form at http://magissues.farmprogress.com/FFU/FF03Mar12/ffu60.pdf. Happy reading!
We’ll have to check out these other books! They sound great!
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