The King of Prussia and a Peanut Butter Sandwich - Softcover

Grade 4-5 A mildly amusing explanation of the origins of the Kansas wheat agribusiness in a brief text which demonstrates the interaction of political, social, and economic events. The book concerns the Mennonites, who move from Prussia to the Crimea where, by copying and improving the agricultural methods of their Turkish neighbors, they develop Turkey Red, a hardy strain of winter wheat. When the Mennonites move again, they take their wheat with them to the United States. In the most successful section of the book, Fleming highlights the role of the children in the move, as they sift through the grain to preserve the hardiest specimens for the relocation. The Mennonite arrival in Kansas began the winter wheat industry, which has been a foundation of that area's economy ever since. Although this historical episode is relatively minor, it is effectively used to illustrate such basic principles as the importance of hard work, religious freedom, and adapting and learning about the environment. The prose, however, is hardly distinguished, including as it does much invented dialogue. This description can also be applied to Himler's line drawings, which seem unusually stiff and unfinished. The overall result is useful but labored, with the explanation of the title (on the last page) becoming, in its weakness, an anticlimax. Christine Behrmann, New York Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.