THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CORN

Micucci, who has closely examined the apple, the peanut, the honeybee and most recently the ant (The Life and Times of the Ant, 2003, etc.), now turns to the largest crop in America—corn. Who knew those little kernels contained so much history and lore? In a conversational and lively narrative, the author follows the growth, cultivation and shocking number of uses of this “a-maize-ing” plant. Sensitive to children’s sensibilities, he delights in explaining large statistics—bushels are stacked high, each equaling 100,000,000, to represent leading corn producers. Plus, he carefully explains, if all 125,000 square miles of cultivated cornfields were put together, “corn” would be the fifth largest of the United States! In a clear, logical order, punctuated by timelines, maps and fun corn facts, the author introduces the history and life cycle of this staple. Columbus sought gold when he came to the New World; little did he know how much those yellow kernels were really worth. (sources, acknowledgements) (Informational picture book. 5-8)