Image: Simon & Schuster
Marjory Saves the Everglades: the story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas by Sandra Neil Wallace. Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. 56 p. Paula Wiseman Books/ Simon & Schuster, September, 2020. 9781534431546. (Review of finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)
Fact Friday is late today! In "never too old for picture book news, Marjory Saves the Everglades: the story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas is our Fact Friday feature. This brilliantly illustrated slightly longer picture book for older readers highlights the long and illustrious life of Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
Marjory's love for Florida, more specifically Florida's everglades was born over a hundred years ago, when she was a child visiting her father, the founder of the Miami Herald. She grew up in the north, went to Wellesley College, married briefly and returned to Florida and began work as a reporter for her father's newspaper. When World War I broke out, she joined the Red Cross. Upon returning home from the war, she found that developers were planning on draining the Everglades in order to develop the land. She researched; she wrote; she enlisted supporters. Eventually, she and her supporters changed minds; but it had to be done again and again over the years as developers tried to drain the Everglades. She even had to battle the US Army Corps of Engineers when they straightened a river and that led to damage to the fragile ecosystem. Her life of environmental activism is an inspiration and a reminder that the environment continues to need our protection.
Plentiful back matter includes a timeline and tons of extra information and resources to learn more. This is a welcome addition to my picture book biography unit.
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