Over the past few centuries there have been some books that have greatly impacted America. Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Updikes' The Jungle, and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring have each sparked reform. A friend recently gave me The Edge of the Sea, one of Caron's earlier books. This book began its life as a guide to seashore life but morphed into something completely different. While my son has found many happy hours reading identification books and catalogs, this is not my forte so I was slightly concerned about the book. The book is unexpected for the genre.
Carson is a poet who writes in prose. Full of imagery and metaphors, I would love to use sections of this book with students to share how descriptive language can be used. It is a master text. She intertwines this description with geological history and moving depictions of the landscape. Carson shows how the animals are dependent upon the environment. In the 1950s she discusses climate change and how it altered habitats and organism ranges.
Carson's training in marine zoology is seen in every line as she details moving along the Atlantic coast. Not only does she showcase each specimen, she talks about life cycles and interdependencies. She brings this ever changing world to life. A read that not only fuels the mind but the soul as well.
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