Gregor Mendel was a curious little boy. When he learned that growing two kinds of apple trees together made better fruit and that breeding sheep made thicker wool, he wanted to know how these results were possible. This curiosity lead to a lifetime of research that resulted in Mendel’s 8-year experiment with pea plants and his observations about how traits are passed from parents to offspring.
Gregor Mendel’s story is told by Cheryl Bardoe, Senior Project Manager of Exhibitions at The Field Museum in Chicago. Her book was published in conjunction with an exhibition the museum hosted over four years ago. The exhibition, Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics, is still viewable online. Also online is the resource guide created specifically for Illinois teachers. This resource-rich guide has information and activities that can be incorporated into any biology classroom.
Bardoe provides young biologists with great insight into Mendel’s childhood and his life as a friar and a teacher. She also provides a succinct review of how genes are passed from parents to offspring. The colorful and lively illustrations of Jos. A. Smith complement her easy-to-follow explanation.
Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas is available at ArtPlantae Books.
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