Rooting for Plants

June 1, 2023
Grades 2-5 In this follow-up to Buzzing with Questions (2019), a biography about the first Black entomologist, Harrington and Taylor team up again to elevate another Black scientist out of obscurity. Accessible text traces the life of Charles S. Parker, beginning with his childhood in Spokane, Washington, and progressing to his service as a solider in the segregated U.S. Army during WWI. Parker's accomplishments after the war, however, form the focus of this picture-book biography. Although he couldn't afford his own farm, Parker helped others establish theirs and pursued his dream of becoming a botanist. In addition to collecting thousands of plant specimens from all over the country, conducting the first mushroom study by a Black American mycologist (and introducing several new species), and teaching botany at Howard University, he encouraged other students of color, including women, to enter science. Pleasing illustrations with varied layouts lend to the welcoming tone, while robust back matter with additional facts, a time line, archival photos, and mini-bios of other notable Black botanists round out this appealing tribute.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 15, 2023
A look at the life and work of an early-20th-century African American botanist. Charles S. Parker, a young plant enthusiast from Spokane, grows up to do pioneering research on ferns and fungi and educate a generation of Black botanists at Howard University in Washington, D.C. This straightforward account of his life covers his experience as a lieutenant in the segregated U.S. Army in France during the First World War and, later, his explorations in the Pacific Northwest, along the banks of the Potomac in Maryland, and even in northern Canada. His studies of one genus of fungi--Hypholoma--yielded new species that now bear his name. Like Harrington and Taylor's previous collaboration, Buzzing With Questions (2019), another picture-book biography of a Black scientist, this one is similarly thorough. Along with Parker's contributions to the field of mycology, Harrington emphasizes his encouragement of young Black scientists. The digital illustrations, done in flat colors with black outlines, help readers understand his studies and depict mostly people of color with varying skin tones. Broken up into paragraphs and set directly on the artwork, the text looks more accessible than it actually may be to younger readers, but the backmatter includes a helpful glossary for the technical terms. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Sure to inspire a passion for all things plant to take root among aspiring scientists. (more information on Parker, timeline, information on other Black botanists and mycologists, photographs, bibliography, photo credits) (Picture-book biography. 7-10)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2023
Harrington and Taylor (Buzzing with Questions, rev. 11/19) introduce the life of another pioneering Black scientist, Charles S. Parker (1882�? 1950). Clear, engaging prose outlines Parker's lifelong love of plants, his desire to know "where, when, why, and how they grew," and to help others "learn to love plants, too." Parker not only made his mark locating, collecting, and identifying plant and fungi specimens, he also served as a mentor to Black scholars, particularly women who were underrepresented in the academic world. Clearly, that desire to help others guided him: as a young man he co-founded a newspaper focusing on jobs for Black workers and, as a First Lieutenant in WWI, petitioned for equality for Black soldiers. After the war, Parker's research began in earnest as he collected plants across the U.S. and Canada, devised a process for preserving them, and pioneered work in mushrooms and other fungi. With an appropriately earth-toned palette, Taylor's digital art spotlights Parker's collection expeditions, the plants and fungi he studied, and his fieldwork with students. Appended with a scientific glossary; additional biographical information about Parker; a timeline of his life; brief biographies of six notable Black scientists (three of whom he mentored); and extensive bibliographic material. Betty Carter

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2023
Harrington and Taylor (Buzzing with Questions, rev. 11/19) introduce the life of another pioneering Black scientist, Charles S. Parker (1882�? 1950). Clear, engaging prose outlines Parker's lifelong love of plants, his desire to know "where, when, why, and how they grew," and to help others "learn to love plants, too." Parker not only made his mark locating, collecting, and identifying plant and fungi specimens, he also served as a mentor to Black scholars, particularly women who were underrepresented in the academic world. Clearly, that desire to help others guided him: as a young man he co-founded a newspaper focusing on jobs for Black workers and, as a First Lieutenant in WWI, petitioned for equality for Black soldiers. After the war, Parker's research began in earnest as he collected plants across the U.S. and Canada, devised a process for preserving them, and pioneered work in mushrooms and other fungi. With an appropriately earth-toned palette, Taylor's digital art spotlights Parker's collection expeditions, the plants and fungi he studied, and his fieldwork with students. Appended with a scientific glossary; additional biographical information about Parker; a timeline of his life; brief biographies of six notable Black scientists (three of whom he mentored); and extensive bibliographic material.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)