How the Scientist, Writer, and Nature Lover
Changed the Environmental Movement
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books for Young Readers)
pub. 3.11.2025
40 pages
Ages 7 - 10
Author: Kate Hannigan
Illustrator: Katie Hickey
Character: Rachel Carson
Overview:
"Rachel Carson wasn’t always the Rachel Carson, renowned environmental activist. From her earliest years, Rachel had a passion for nature—to her, it was a fairyland, and she loved to write about her adventures and the creatures she 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 a nature writer.
In the course of her work, Rachel learned about the harm caused by recently developed pesticides and chemicals that made their way into the environment. Desperate to protect nature for future generations even as her health declined, she penned the famous book Silent Spring—a call to action against the threat of the deadly chemicals. The book is anything but quiet, selling more than 2 million copies and leading directly to changes like the Clean Air Act of 1963 and the Clean Water Act of 1972."
Tantalizing taste:
"But walking with Roger amid tiny seedlings
and tall spruce, Rachelle knows nature is as
fragile as a robin's egg. All around her, she…
sees trees cut down and buildings going up,
hears the honking of more drivers on the road,
smells the spray of weed killers and pesticides,
feels the sun's heat where shade used to be,
tastes the worry over what is to come."
And something more: Kate Hannigan in the Author's Note explains: "Carson died just eighteen months after Silent Spring was published. She didn't live to see the impact of her work, which still resonates today, or to hear the good names people called her – like 'mother of the environmental movement.' Her book laid the groundwork for many efforts to protect the earth..."
Updated: Sep 4, 2025
How Cecilia Chiang Revolutionized
Chinese Food in America
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
pub. 4.29.2025
40 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Julie Leung
Illustrator: Melissa Iwai
Character: Cecilia Chiang
Overview:
"From an early age, Cecilia Chiang could be found delighting in the sounds and smells from her favorite room in her home—the kitchen. Little did Cecilia know that she would one day have to escape war and travel to a faraway country, destined to change Chinese cuisine in the United States forever.
Experience the dishes Cecilia Chiang enjoyed throughout her life as the seventh daughter in a large family to the owner of the famous Mandarin restaurant in San Francisco."
Tantalizing taste:
"During a time when Chinese food in America was seen as cheap and greasy, Cecilia Chiang served dishes that showcased the best of our homeland. She encouraged her diners to be open to something new and different.
Her first menu at the Mandarin included this introduction: 'Imagine you are a Chinese family…' A simple but revolutionary ask: to put yourself in someone else's shoes – perhaps a seventh daughter who once lived in a palace, peering into the kitchen to see the banquet emerge."
And something more: Julie Leung in the Author's Note explains: "Through Cecilia Chiang and the Mandarin, Americans were introduced to China's diversity of flavors and cooking styles. She presented Chinese cuisine as a fine – dining experience – worthy of western media, reviews and awards – and pioneered a culinary awakening in this country." And as someone who had the good fortune to dine at the Mandarin in San Francisco, I can agree!
Updated: Aug 28, 2025
How Maria Reiche Saved the Nazca Lines
by Sweeping the Desert
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TO
Astra Young Readers
pub. 4.8.2025
48 pages
Ages 7 - 10
Author: Michaela MacColl
Illustrator: Elisa Chavarri
Character: Maria Reiche
Overview:
"Maria Reiche wanted to put her curious mind to the test. When visiting Peru in 1941, she trekked across the land and discovered hidden lines covered in centuries of clay and sand.
Fascinated, she picked up a broom from her tools and began sweeping for miles and miles to uncover more details, taking time to track her movement and sketch out the precise shapes she followed. Her first discovery was a spider-shaped carving spanning hundreds of feet of desert! Sweeping her way across the land, other shapes followed—a monkey, a condor, and a whale.
But in the midst of these discoveries, she found out the land was going to be used for farming. She got to work again, this time demanding a press conference to announce her discoveries and stop the destruction of these ancient works of art—and it worked! Her efforts protected the land, which was later named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 thanks to Maria’s tireless efforts."
Tantalizing taste:
"Maria lived long enough to see the United Nations name the Nazca Lines a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The whole world would protect the Lines now, not just Maria Reiche and her brooms.
Maybe someday someone will figure out what the Lines mean.
Maybe you will.
Maria Reiche saved them for you."
And something more: Michaela MacColl in A Word from the Author explains: "Once Maria discovered her life's passion at age thirty-eight, nothing could stop her from pursuing it. At the end of her life, Maria acknowledged that she would never know why the Nazca carved lines in the sand. Far from being disappointed, she decided that to know everything would be boring."
As she says, "Even if I were sure that my blindness is due to the severe sun and all the limitations of my life on the planes, I would never have given up my studies."
