Rachel Carson's Wonder-Filled World: How the Scientist, Writer, and Nature Lover Changed the Environmental Movement

Summary

This STEAM picture book biography highlights how scientist and writer Rachel Carson became the author ofthe groundbreaking book Silent Spring and the mother of the modern environmental movement.Rachel Carsonwasn’t always the Rachel Carson, renowned environmental activist. From her earliest years, Rachel had apassion for nature—to her, it was a fairyland, and she loved to write about her adventures and the creaturesshe saw. Encouraged by teachers, Rachel wanted nothing more than to study the ocean and its inhabitants.Though unable to finish her PhD due to financial constraints, Rachel found work in science and success as anature writer.In the course of her work, Rachel learned about the harm caused by recently developed pesticidesand chemicals that made their way into the environment. Desperate to protect nature for future generationseven as her health declined, she penned the famous book Silent Spring—a call to action against the threat ofthe deadly chemicals. The book is anything but quiet, selling more than 2 million copies and leading directly tochanges like the Clean Air Act of 1963 and the Clean Water Act of 1972.Kate Hannigan, the author of severalaward-winning children’s books, joins her talents with Katie Hickey, a longtime illustrator of popular picture bookbiographies, to bring the mother of the environmental movement to life for a new generation of readers.