*Parental Warning: The poem "Goliath" on page 76 contains a disturbing and graphic line related to a lynching. We strongly recommend teachers pre-read and/or skip this poem with their students. The Teacher Guide also contains this warning prior to reading.

This collection of poems assembled by award-winning writer Marilyn Nelson provides young readers with a compelling, lyrical account of the life of revered African-American botanist and inventor George Washington Carver. Born into slavery, Carver became the head of the agriculture department at Tuskegee Institute and was a contemporary and friend of Booker T. Washington.