The science of chemistry has armed itself with the most terrible weapons, and that in turning those weapons against insects it had also turned them against earth itself.
Rachel Carson was an American scientist who was born in 1907 in rural Pennsylvania.
From an early age she loved of nature and as a straight A student was able to enter university to study writing and eventually biology.
She was a trailblazer from the start, combining two degrees into one (biology and writing) and paving the way for more women to work in the area of science.
This book outlines the story of her pathway into science in an easy to see and read fashion for young readers. Illustrations, photographs and short captions allow for easy access to quality information alongside more in depth paragraphs.
As the book progresses, readers will learn about her passion as an environmentalist and how many of her findings helped to pave the way into her own activism and the current activism of today.
One area she particularly made the world aware of was the use of pesticides and the negative impact that have on the environment, despite our longing to still use them.
There are some excellent time lines and full page quotes which show the progress she helped to make in the world.
There is also information about her research has continued to influence people today.
Up until now I was not aware of Rachel Carson but without people like her I am sure that our awareness would not be like it is today.
Giving students the chance to read into the lives of eminent scientists is important as not only do we learn about them, we also have the opportunity to see that we can be like this too.
This would be a great book to use for:
Night of the notables
Sustainability – why we need to act now.
Literacy –
Teacher notes can be found here: https://ekbooks.org/product/rachel-carson/
