John Deere, That's Who!

by Tracy Nelson Maurer, Tim Zeltner (Illustrator)

Overview

Back in the 1830s, who was a young blacksmith from Vermont, about to make his mark on American history? John Deere, that’s who!

Who moved to Illinois, where farmers were struggling to plow through the thick, rich soil they called gumbo? Who tinkered and tweaked and tested until he invented a steel plow that sliced into the prairie easy as you please?

Long before the first tractor, who changed farming forever? John Deere, that’s who!

Beautiful illustrations—including spectacular landscapes—reflect the time period and bring John Deere's remarkable story to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627791298
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	03/28/2017
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	405,659
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Tracy Nelson Maurer is the author of over a hundred books, including Samuel Morse, That's Who! and John Deere, That's Who! and many other nonfiction books for children. She lives near Minneapolis with her family, and loves to interact with readers on her frequent school and library visits.

Tim Zeltner’s award-winning artwork is largely inspired by the landscape of the Delaware Valley, where he grew up. His illustrations feature a unique combination of layered paint, glazes, and stains on wood. His favorite holiday is Halloween, and he lives in Toronto with his wife, Jackie, and dog, Jessie.

Editorial Reviews

A NSTA Best STEM Book of the Year

A NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Missourian Summer Reading Selection

Frances and Kermit Rudolf Nonfiction Scholarship Award Winner

Indiana Farm Bureau 2018 Book of the Year

Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee

2018 Wisconsin Agriculture in the Classroom Book of the Year

"The text is smoothly conversational and.... The illustrations are gorgeous." —Kirkus

"A solid selection to demonstrate the creative thinking and problem-solving skills needed for design or maker learning." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

01/01/2017
Gr 1–4—Who was John Deere, and how did he start the business that bears his name? In this picture book biography, Deere is introduced as a blacksmith living in Vermont in the 1830s. After his forge burned down twice, Deere decided to move west. Trying to use traditional plows in the tough, sticky Illinois prairie ground was a difficult and time-consuming endeavor. Through trial and testing, Deere came up with a plow that made the work quicker and easier. (A note at the end provides further information about Deere and the development of the company.) Told in a conversational manner, the factual narrative is well matched to the folk art—style illustrations. Rendered in acrylic paint on plywood, along with stains and glazes, the pictures effectively reflect the subject and the time period. Although Deere was not widely known or documented in his own time, historians have worked with "recollections of family and friends, notes in diaries, newspaper articles, letters, and business materials." The author includes a lengthy source list and suggests visiting the John Deere company website. VERDICT An effective resource for economics lessons, as it examines product development, testing, and distribution. Also a solid selection to demonstrate the creative thinking and problem-solving skills needed for design or maker learning.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

School Library Journal

2016-12-06
In 1836, John Deere—then a young, white Vermont father and blacksmith—moved to Illinois to settle debts brought on by two forge fires—and wound up inventing a superior plow. Deere was an excellent blacksmith whose plow improvement was purely pragmatic: many of his farming customers were ready to give up on Illinois, and he needed their payments to bring his family to him from Vermont. Farmers accustomed to sandy soil discovered that the Midwest's rich, black soil stuck to their easily pitted, heavy iron plows—causing frequent pauses to scrape off what they called "gumbo." Deere tinkered with a discarded steel blade from a sawmill, thinking that a shiny, curved, lightweight plow might "slice through gumbo." Soon overcoming skeptics by demonstrations and giving samples to farmers, John Deere's "singing plow" became wildly popular. By 1838 he had moved his family to his side and had established a manufacturing company still in existence. The only missing piece in Maurer's tale is a sudden leap from "steel was rare that far west and too pricey" to the big success story; readers must make their own deductions. Otherwise, the text is smoothly conversational and has just enough details to interest without overwhelming. The illustrations are gorgeous: semiprimitive paintings with deliberate crackling for an aging effect. The winding patterns of rivers and plows are especially noteworthy. An informative look at an inventor and his invention's impact. (glossary, additional facts, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews