Rachel: The Story of Rachel Carson

by Amy Ehrlich, Wendell Minor (Illustrator)

A memorable biography provides a look at the life of the author of Silent Spring and explores the early inspirations that led her to her chosen career. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, Science, Nature, History, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Amy Ehrlich is the author of more than thirty books for young readers and is also a winner of The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for her novel Joyride, which was also chosen Booklist Choice Best Book of the Decade. She lives on a farm in Northern Vermont with her husband and a great many domestic and agricultural animals.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: mentions millions of years, only on the first page.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each two-page spread is a snapshot from the life of Rachel Carson. The left features a beautiful painting of a scene in her life while the right gives the date, location, and description of what was happening in her life at that time. Because the book is a collection of points in time in her life, I did not feel like there was a good flow to the story.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel: The Story of Rachel Carson by Amy Ehrlich, Illustrator Wendell Minor- Children’s illustrated Colour picture book- The book narrates the story of Rachel Carson, (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) who was an American marine biologist, author, and conservationist whose influential book Silent Spring created awareness about global environmental movement. Rachel Carson was born on a family 65 acre farm near Springdale, Pennsylvania, just up the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh. She and her mother travelled in the forest and found yellow throat bird. The magazine “St Nicholas “contained articles by children. Her family purchased this magazine regularly. A story written by Rachel was published in this magazine. Rachel’s parents worked hard to collect fees for admission in Pennsylvania College for women. She was awarded a scholarship also. Rachel studied stuffed animals in Natural History library. When she returned from hostel, she found that her brother and his family, her widow sister and her daughter had arrived to live with them. Forest was being cut for industrialization. Her sister Mary Scott Skinker encouraged her to learn Zoology. Rachel was awarded scholarship for Hopkins University for her graduation. She was 22- year old at his time. After graduation, Rachel decided to become a zoologist. She applied for a government job of scientist. She was first the merit list and was appointed to the Fish Bureau. She was 28 – year old. She wrote articles in magazine to popularize life of creates of the ocean. The Atlantic Magazine published her article “Under Sea”. The publisher offered to write on more sea animals. In 1941, she published her book “Under the Sea Wind- a naturalist’s picture of ocean life.”. Second World War started. Up to 1951, Rachel studied and wrote about effect on environment and ocean by use of chemicals. In 1951, her book “the sea around us” was published. She left her job for full time writing and research. She published two books “The Edge of the Sea’ “the Sea”. At the age of 50 years, she adopted her sister’s son. From 1945 to 1958, chemical companies became powerful They took permission from government to spray chemicals on forests and farms to kill insects. Chemicals and pesticides effected the life and movement of birds, insect life., fishes and ocean creatures. In struggle for clean environment she wrote the book “Silent Spring” which was published in 1962. Rachel was suffering from cancer. In 1964, after hearing evidence from experts, Congress brought laws to control mis-use of pesticides. Rachel died in 14 April, 1964. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[Emily Sammartino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Carson was a young woman who had a passion for nature and writing. As she got older and went to college she majored in biology, wanting to know more about the world and what lies beneath it. She went on to write Silent Spring, which detailed the dangers of poisons and pesticides that were being used at the time. Throughout the book you hear of all of Carson’s contributions and the challenges she faced, before she succumbed to cancer and passed away. When I picked out the book the name Rachel Carson sounded familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on why I knew the name. When I got to the part about Silent Spring, I realized that is how I knew of Carson, but the sad part is I only knew that I did not know all the other amazing things that Carson did. The ending of the book was my favorite part and made me tear up, as Rachel and her friend go to watch the migration of the butterflies as her bucket list thing to do before she passed. This book would be great to read to inspire students and get them talking about the environment. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend for others to read it.

[Tracie Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art and beautiful simple biography to introduce Rachel Carson.

I do wish that they would mention, however, that Dorothy Freedman was the woman Rachel loved and not just merely a "friend". Makes it seem like the author is afraid of acknowledging Rachel's queerness.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom read this to me as I drove through PA. She has long admired Carson and enjoyed learning more about her. I thought the book was well done but lacked a bit of connection throughout the narrative.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take Rachel Carson from er discovery of nature as a child to the wildlife refuge built to honor her after her death. Children interested in nature and saving the environment might find this inspiring.

[Shana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this biography on Rachel Carson! What's crazy is discovering that I live where Carson grew up! Talk about inspiration.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book in 2nd Grade Reading Groups. Studying Biographies (childhood and family, education, accomplishments, adversities)

[Kyja Wilburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book. The format is a few one page snapshots of Rachel Carson's life. It depicts so much of the emotional life of a scientist.

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: one mention of millions of years on the first page.

[YingYu Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The words are succinct and the pictures captivating

[Allison Bass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book and think it would be great in any 3-5 classroom! This advanced picture book follows the life of Rachel Carson, through her childhood and into adulthood. I really loved that it started her story when she was a child because I think that students will identify with it straight away. The book also features some really beautiful pictures that are captivating and paint a picture for the reader of what her surroundings might have looked like. The book flows well from page to page and is broken up by years. Rachel was a very curious child and was constantly exploring the world around her and trying to learn new things. She even changes her major in college to biology to study her surroundings even more. She was very interested in the chemical DDT and studied its harmful effects extensively. Her research helped push the government to open an investigation about DDT. It is an inspiring biography because the reader can see that she starts out as just a normal little girl that follows her passions and ends up making a huge impact.

I could use this in my classroom in so many different ways. I could use this book to talk about important figures in science and how they followed what they were passionate about. I could have the children think of things around them in the world that they would like to investigate more, just like Rachel Carson did with her surroundings. This book is a great example of what happens when an ordinary child follows their interests and curiosities. I also think that I could use this book to talk about chronological organization of text because this book clearly marks time changes and stays in the order that her life happened in. I think this book, most importantly, is a great way to show young girls in your classroom that they can be scientists if they want to be! This book would show girls that there are successful women scientists in the world who are making a great impact.

I think that I loved this book so much because the story seemed very relatable for children. The pictures are gorgeous and the book flows well. Children will see that they should follow their interests because it can lead them to some really great things!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the life story of environmental pioneer and author of The Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, from her early childhood to her death in 1964. The beautiful illustrations and short, evocative chapters will keep the young reader involved in Rachel's story, a story of making a difference in our world by protecting wild life and educating the public about why it is important to do so.

CIP Summary:
None
Summary from Books in Print:
As an adult, Rachel wrote books about what she loved--including Silent Spring, a book that changed the world...complemented by Wendell Minor's luminous paintings, tells a memorable story of the power of the word, the power of the individual, and--most of all--the importance of following your heart.

From School Library Journal:
Grade 3-5-Ehrlich skims a few highlights of Carson's life and work, sometimes poetically. "A transparent, elongated paramecium drifted slowly across the microscope's field.-In that simple one-celled organism she saw the complexity of the universe."...Minor's fine watercolor-and-gouache paintings provide splendid full- and double-page views of various settings and credible portraits. While the spare narrative may be somewhat nebulous for primary-grade readers, it might serve as an evocative introduction for slightly older children...

From Horn Book Guide:
In a series of at-times choppy two-paragraph chapters, Ehrlich relates highlights from the life of the remarkable woman who helped launch the environmental movement with the 1962 publication of Silent Spring. Ultimately, the marriage of hard facts and soft watercolor and gouache images of Carson at various stages of life doesn't prove harmonious.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oof I go through a lot of feelings when I read this book! Gratitude for all Rachel Carson did to work on behalf of the animals and plants that we live alongside. Despair at the thought that we are still fighting uphill battles to protect the environment from a myriad of dangers from humans. Hope that people like Rachel Carson exist and work for change and often succeed.

If you want an easy introduction to who Rachel Carson was, for either yourself or a child, this is an excellent choice. The illustrations add a magical quality to her life despite it being quite grounded in the natural world and science. The story is inspiring even as it reminds us that we still have so much to do even 80ish years later. Great for anyone interested in women who brought change and environmentalism or simply the love of nature. It is well written with beautiful illustrations to get lost in while reflecting on nature or what you yourself might be called to do, as Rachel Carson was.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purchased as an addition to a biography unit, this book tells of Rachel Carson's life in short, unconnected bursts of text. Each page features a different year in her life with minimal information. It does, however, tie her interest in science at a young age to her career choice as an adult. It also does not shy away from mentioning her relationship with Dorothy Freeman, but appropriately does not spell out exactly what kind of relationship it was. This picture book could be the stepping stone for more research into the life of a woman who was truly a pioneer in environmental science.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and moving book. The illustrations are lovely and the format is ideal for young readers. Each two page spread includes a one page description or "chapter" of a time in Rachel Carson's life and an accompanying illustration that depicts the specific time period. This is a great book to share during an environmentally themed unit, women's history month, and biography studies. Good source notes are provided.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know much about Rachel Carson, and only knew about her landmark book Silent Spring in a general way, so I was interested in this junior nonfiction as a way of learning more. A simple book done as a series of snapshots of her life, from early childhood writing stories and her passionate interest in the natural world, to her work as an adult- studying biology in the 1920s, her conservation work, Silent Spring outlining the dangers of pesticides, to her untimely death in 1964.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

too short. this was like dim sum or tapas, just a taste and i wanted more. what was she like in high school? what happened to roger? did he follow in her footsteps?

Wendell Minor painted a beautiful scene of Carson and Mary Frye walking along a seashore that had so much depth it made me wonder if he's done any dinosaur books.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kind of failed in regard to its audience, young readers and listeners. Not many elementary age students would be excited about this read. The illustrations were lovely but the broken up time-line way of writing her life story was not presented well, leaving me needing more and feeling as if I learned very little from this source.

[Brittany]

My sons aged 7 and 9 and I read this together during Earthday studies we all really enjoyed it. It is divided it up into 1-2 pages chapters and was a great conversation starter for us about organic food, pesticides, and of course Rachel Carson's definitive work Silent Spring.

[Teshamae · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a well-written children's book with great illustrations! It's my favorite that we've read yet on Rachel Carson. She's such an important person to learn about. I'm glad we found this book! It's one we'll return to again and again.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative and well-organized kid-friendly bio of Carson's life. My daughter enjoyed learning about Carson for her Kindergarten science fair project, particularly because this book summarizes Carson's impact so nicely. Well written, and moving illustrations.

[Stacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full of educational information but too heavy for young readers. Vocabulary is large and my daughter lost interest in reading aloud to me because of the difficult vocabulary. I myself found it a depressing story and not at all desiring to read it again.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rachel Carson was the author of Silent Spring. But this book about her is not great--it could be great if the story were continuous, but it rasies more questions about her than it teaches.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book focuses on small but important moments in Rachel's life - very quick read (picture book). Hopefully, it could inspire kids to want to learn more!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but definitely reminded me how spoiled we are with all the amazing PB biographies lately.

This one had lovely images but didn't flow as well as so many I've read in the last 2 years.

[Kerry Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keira seemed to love the gorgeous pictures.

[Eriko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic. Beautiful illustrations. Read it to my kid at bedtime tonight.