Rachel Carson's Wonder-Filled World: How the Scientist, Writer and Nature Lover Changed the Environmental Movement. Written by Kate Hannigan and illustrated by Katie Hickey. Calkins Creek, Astra. Penguin Random House. 2025. $24.99 ages 8 and up

 

"If I had influence with the good fairy who is 
supposed to preside over the christening of all 
children, I should ask that her gift to each 
child in the world be a sense of wonder so 
indestructible that it would last throughout 
life."

Rachel Carson loved nature from the time she was a wee girl spending her time wandering through the woods near her home with her mother, her dog, and her notebook. Her senses were piqued by the sights, sounds, smells, feels, and tastes of her surroundings. Turning those nature walks into stories, she dreamt of becoming an author. 

She also developed a love for science, and was lucky enough, at a time when women were not encouraged to be scientists, to study biology. Graduation from college led her to further research near the ocean, where her senses were again attuned to the wonder of crashing waves, the smell of marine life, and the feel of sand on her bare feet. In hard times during the Depression, she found work selling freelance commentary about marine animals. 

Popular with many readers, she was asked to write a book about her studies. Rachel never stopped learning about the natural world, including habitat loss, pollution, and endangered species. She wrote other books to help readers understand what she was learning about chemicals and pesticides, and the role humans played in the balance of nature. Her great concern for the fragility of the natural world was top of mind. To protect the beauty she so loved, she decided she must 'inform and inspire' her colleagues and everyday people about the dangers of pesticides. Her book Silent Spring was published, and made the difference she had always wanted to make. Rachel Carson died eighteen months later, and eight years before DDT was finally banned. 

Ms. Hannigan's use of the senses to describe Rachel Carson's work holds great appeal. Important quotes from her writing life are given a place of importance on many of the book's spreads and are set within detailed natural surroundings. Extensive back matter offers a lengthy author's note about the impact of Ms. Carson's life and writing, and the many efforts to protect the earth that came following her dedicated work. There is also a timeline, a further quote, information about DDT and its detrimental effects, a glossary, a guide to helping to make a difference as Rachel Carson did, and a very useful bibliography for those interested in further research of their own. A few archival photos are included.