
By Tracy Nelson Maurer, Tim Zeltner (Illustrator)
A blacksmith's invention transforms farming in 1830s America.
In the 1830s, young blacksmith John Deere leaves Vermont for Illinois, where farmers battle the stubborn prairie soil. With determination and innovation, he crafts a steel plow that revolutionizes agriculture. Can one man's ingenuity change the face of farming forever? Discover the story of perseverance and transformation that reshaped the American landscape.
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.
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