John Muir: America's First Environmentalist

Candlewick Biographies

by Kathryn Lasky, Stanley Fellows, Stan Fellows (Illustrator)

Quoting from John Muir's diaries, Kathryn Lasky tells the inspiring tale of one of America's most dedicated environmentalists, aided by Stan Fellows's evocative, dramatic acrylic paintings.

From the meadows of Scotland to the farms of Wisconsin, from the swamps of Florida to the Alaskan tundra, John Muir loved the land. Born in 1838, he was a writer, a scholar, an inventor, a shepherd, a farmer, and an explorer, but above all, he was a naturalist. John Muir was particularly devoted to the high cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient giant sequoia trees that, through his careful influence, were set aside as the first national park in America - Yosemite. Here is the life story of the man who, moved by a commitment to wilderness everywhere, founded the Sierra Club in 1892, a conservation group that carries on his crucial work to this day.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Nature, History, Science Nature

42 pages, Hardcover

First published March 14, 2006

About the author

Kathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best bios for young readers that I've read. While it is a picture book, it would be enjoyed by readers of all ages. It's very well done. It even includes a contents which focuses on key blocks of time in Muir's life and gives kids an advance organizer for the story. (Unless kids have been introduced to a Contents page, they may skip right over this reading aid.)

The story is divided into seven time periods:
1838-1848 Scotland
1849-1860 America
1861-1866 The War Years
.... 1867 .... Journey to Florida
.... 1868 .... California
.... 1870 .... Alaska
.... 1890 .... Yosemite National Park

Just having read, The Flower Hunter about William Bartram, I can confidently say that this will have much more appeal to young readers. Both Ray and Lasky used diaries as a basis for the story, but Lasky used them much more effectively.

I noted many statements that I liked, but I'll only include a few of them here.

p. 3: John Muir later wrote that the best lessons he was to learn were those learned in 'wildness,' by which he meant the natural outdoor world. (Today's batch of politicians definitely missed the opportunity to explore the natural world.)

p. 16: In preparation for a thousand mile walk from Indiana to the coast of Florida, Muir packed one change of underwear, a comb, a towel, soap, a small device to press samples of plants and leaves, a brush, three books, and a notebook.

p. 18: By the end of his journey, it was not an alligator that had beaten John Muir but a mosquito. He had contracted malaria.

p. 20: I completely agree: People needed nature, he concluded: they needed woods and they needed meadows, not to use or own but simply as places where they could marvel at God's inventions. (Or rather, at the wonders of the natural world.)

p. 24: And I imagine that a good many readers would enjoy sleeping in Muir's 'hanging nest.' It was a box suspended over the stream, ... It had two skylights so that he could see South Dome, one of the Sierra peaks, and Yosemite Falls. And, while rocking gently in this cozy shelter, he would read by candlelight.

And to think that I found this treasure in a neighbor's Little Lending Library!

[Timothy Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short biography about one of America’s early conservationists!

[Mandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

We learned so much about John Muir through this book! It was well written 💜

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book left me wanting to read more about Muir and his wanderings. I can't imagine having the freedom to just walk in the wilderness, exploring for days, maybe seeing no one else for days. He even went to Alaska! Thank goodness he did, or we might not have some of the wilderness preserves that we have today. My favorite picture in this book is of the "hanging nest" he built himself--a little house suspended over a millstream, approachable by stepping on rocks. What a nifty place to read! Highly recommended for budding naturalists!

[Shivaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2006, John Muir: America's First Environmentalist tells the story of Muir's grand and sweeping love of the natural world, from his boyhood years in Scotland to his arrival in America in 1861, his journey to Florida in 1867, California in 1868, Alaska in 1870 and Yosemite National Park in 1890. As a boy, Muir referred to the natural outdoor world as "wildness." He loved and craved adventure. He would chase creatures and watch stars, run in the woods and sit by streams and meadows for days on end. The book tells us that as a boy he "fell so deeply and passionately in love with a meadow (in Scotland) that he began to hope and imagine that some land, land like this meadow, should never be touched or changed or disturbed in any way." The beautiful paintings/illustrations by Stan Fellows enchant the young reader as he/she learns about the man who fell in love with Yosemite and would go on to found the Sierra Club in 1892. The writer, Kathryn Lasky, captures Muir's extraordinary imagination and how a boyhood enchantment turned into a lifelong commitment to the environment.

Written by: Kathryn Lasky
Illustrations by: Stan Fellows

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this easy chapter book biography to my family after visiting Yosemite NP. This book details his life from when he was a young boy in Scotland, to immigrating to the U.S. and living on a farm with his dad and brother in Wisconsin, to finally trekking out alone throughout the U.S.' vast wilderness. I was fascinated learning about how he was an inventor and created so many unusual inventions, such as an alarm clock bed that would stand upright at a certain time indicating it was time to get up. Muir's life was inspiring and I also enjoyed learning about the Sierra Club and how it was founded and learning that they were the ones were created the Endangered Species Act. As I stood out near Soda Springs in Tuolumne Meadows, I was dumbstruck with complete awe and wonder at the beauty of "God's inventions", the flowers, trees, animals and mountains and just truly seeing pure wilderness like Muir described. It was so beautiful and I am grateful for conservationists like him who understood the importance of protecting this treasured land for all people to come.

[Congetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Muir was more interesting than I expected him to be. I was surprised to learn that he was an inventor; that he dodged fighting in the American Civil War by going to Canada; that he loved nature even more than animals and that he wrote about glaciers first. He was also another individual that scientists vilified as he discovered something first they didn’t know or believe. So, of course, they publically called him names.

[Maura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful picture book biography of John Muir - my 6 year old son and I both thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the beautiful, evocative paintings, which truly did justice to Muir's beloved Sierra Nevadas and brought to life so many of his other unexpected adventures. Makes us both want to read more about this Scottish-American hero who has had such a dramatic positive impact on our nation's natural treasures.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am using this picture book for my literacy unit, and the story is really going to help my students build some background knowledge about who this guy is. It is written as a biography, and it has beautiful descriptive language and is wonderfully illustrated also. It's really a wonderful read aloud book.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely child's biography of John Muir. Illustrated nicely by Stan Fellows. Kathryn Lasky tells the story of John Muir and his obsession with nature and wilderness and how he became so influential in preserving some of the natural wonders for future generations.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is geared for a 8-12 year old but can be enjoyed by all ages. A fascinating story about America's First Environmentalist. I'd love to read a more detailed book about John Muir.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: does mention "millions of years."

[Elisabeth Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for 4th grade CA history. Read it with Robert Frost!

[Aileen Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful biography of John Muir for children. It was written in a wonderful storytelling fashion that my daughters and I both enjoyed.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! I learned many things about John Muir that I did not know. I especially enjoyed the Stan Fellows illustrations!

[Noelani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info as part of our California History study

[Chrysti Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic biography for young readers to learn about John Muir, Earth-planet, Universe.

[Sammi Rideout · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a guy named John Muir who was America's first Enviromentalist. He started when he was a very young boy, proxamitally at the age of 8. The main characters was John Muir, his father(he didnt have a name in the book.), Johns dog Stickteen. John was 8 years old when he statred discovering and traveling around the world. John had ran into many difficult things, his dad would always treat him very mean. So John ran away. John had many adventures in this book. He traveled in many different places, Florida, California, Alaska, Nevada, and Yosemite National Park. My favorite character was John Muir, because he has learned by himself, and traveled by himself. He tought me that I can do anything, and I can have faith in myself for doing things.

When I was little I had to move alot, I had moved seven times. It was hard for me, but fun at the same time. It was like a big adventure to me, so I know that John had traveled alot of times, and had some hard times. So I can relate to that. I know I had some stressful times moving, and so did John Muir. I had to meet alot of people, and John had to, to and encountered alot of animals to deal with, so that must have been hard.

I think this book was good. Because it can all teach us a lesson that we can do anything, and have faith in ourselfs. My favorite part was when he went to Florida, he left with one change of underwear, a comb, a towel, soap, a small device to press samples of leaves and plants, a brush, three books, and a notebook. He wanted to travel through the leafiest, wildest, and least trodden way. He walked 25 miles a day, and crossed two mountain ranges. When he got to Savannah, Georgia, he was almost starving, and only had 25 cents in his pocket. Even with that little amount of money he was still worried about getting robbed, so he would sleep in graveyards, because people were afraid of spirits and ghost. But he loved the graveyard, because it was filled with beautiful, trees, butterflies, and birds. He found beauty in a plce where most people were afraid of, this helped me realize that you can find beautiful things in places that you might be afraid of or not know of. I wish his eye never got stabbed with a peive of metal because he was blind for a long time.

I would really recommend this book to another person. It was a great book! This book would mostly be for someone that loves adventure books.


Comment:This book sounds really good! This would be a a kind of book that I would want to read.
Comment 2:It sounds like a great book! I would love to read this sometime. This would be my type of book!

[Vera Godley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great biography for the target age group! They will thoroughly enjoy reading about John Muir. Biographies I read as a child were so boring and uninteresting, but Kathryn Lasky has presented John Muir’s life from his early years in Scotland to moving to America and then to his later years with such relaxed, almost lyrical prose that one can’t help but be interested.

John Muir’s early years found him interested in many things: Nature, science, math, inventions. His mind was intrigued by his surroundings, and he found many inventive and interesting ways to engage himself with his surroundings. I was surprised at how self-taught he was in math and the sciences and at his inventive streak. It is fascinating to see how his mind and spirit drove him to explore that to which he was exposed.

When he finally began his trek through America, he left Wisconsin and walked to the Gulf coast of Florida. From Florida he went by boat to California. In California his real life’s work began. He discovered the wilds of California and began to chart the very essence of that nature in his blue book. He was the instrument through which our National Parks were established and for that we should be forever grateful.

In this biography, the end includes a biographical list of sources and further reading. As with all good biographies, there is an index at the back of the book to facilitate study and re-discovery of facts. I highly recommend this as a choice biography for young readers.

The illustrations by Stan Fellows are striking watercolors showing the colors and beauty of nature from the tiny flowers John Muir so loved to the vast mountains. Tiny details as well as majestic mountains fill the pages to render the book beautifully engaging for the young reader.

GIVEAWAY: The good folks at Candlewick Press have graciously provided a copy of John Muir America’s First Environmentalist for one of Chat With Vera’s readers to win. Just use the Rafflecopter entry form. Maybe you can win this for that special young reader in your life. Begins May 19 & ENDS June 10 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT. Open to addresses in USA only. http://chatwithvera.blogspot.com/2014...

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of John Muir America’s First Environmentalist from Candlewick Press in exchange for my honest review. Opinions expressed are solely my own. I was not compensated for this review.

[Laura Wouden]

John Muir, America's First Environmentalist was written by Kathryn Lasky. This book is about daring, wild, young John Muir. He was born in Scotland in 1838. John had a younger brother named David. His dad owned a store so he could not always keep an eye on those daring boys. John loved to find adventure in the outdoors. In the meadows he loved to look at the birds. John Muir was a really smart young boy even though he did not go to public school, he would studied about the same things he would have learned about in schools. John's family moved to America when he was ten years old. John always loved nature and studied and wrote about how to conserve nature and it's resources. When John was in his forties, he became a mountain guide. John was a guide to distinguished Americans in the Sierra Mountains. On one trip John convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to create a bureau of forestry to manage and protect the trees of forest reserves.(John Muir from the book) In 1892 he founded the Sierra Club to try to build a strong conservation policy and, in particular, to save forests and meadows. (John Muir from the book)
I can relate to John because he loved adventure and nature. When I was little I loved to explore places that I hadn't been before and climb up things and get into trouble. Taking care of our planet John loved to invent new things and I love to make new things. He was very interested in science. I also like science and experiment and find out new things that I did not know.
I loved this book. It had adventure and exciting things about John Muir. My favorite part of the book was when he started to explore new places and see new things. My least favorite part is when John goes blind when a piece of metal flew into his eye at a broom factory. He was afraid that he would never see the bright colors of the outdoors.again Th doctor said if he rested his eyes that he would regain his sight again.
I would recommend this to a another person. It is short which is nice and it has pictures so you can see color. The type of person that would like this book is a person that likes adventure, and nature. It shows how one person can really make a difference.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An admirable attempt to capture highlights of the life of a pioneer conservationist in a mere 40 lavishly illustrated pages.

Had I been the editor I would have included in the text on the first page an explanation of why a boy is wearing what looks to today's child like a nightgown. The text does call it a nightshirt, but I think an aside would have helped, being as the first page must capture the interest of the younger reader. I would also have translated the Scottish phrase "I canna get doon", saying something to the effect that this is how one says "I cannot get down" in Scotland.

I would also have toned down the depiction of John's father (use of terms and phrases such as tyrant and "fearful that if their father discovered them" and "harsh temperament"). In those times life was more harsh and parents expected more from children, as they were integral to a family's survival.

What is remarkable is that John chose to use the hours his father permitted him (between 1 and 5 a.m.) to further his own education at his own pace and on his own terms. During these hours he read and tinkered and invented.

Overall, I found his life to be fascinating and appreciated this glimpse which makes me want to read more and learn more. My own great great grandfather was said to have befriended him during his time in northern California.

[Claudia Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collaboration of text and painting. The watercolor art is so stunning. Although meant for much younger audiences, I very much enjoyed reading about John Muir. The author wonderfully combined her own words with quotes from Muir himself as well as other sources. It certainly left me yearning to read Muir’s own writings.
I had no idea who he was but who doesn’t know Yosemite or other parks? Ever since I’ve starting researching homeschooling I’ve come across sources and inspiration of work that I was totally oblivious before. I know I’m not from this country but the fact that our kids don’t learn about someone like John Muir is beyond me. Learning about homeschooling has opened up a whole new world for me, not just for the sake of homeschooling but far beyond.
This book belongs in every classroom.

[Evette · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Muir: America's First Environmentalist by Kathryn Lasky. This book is about a man named John Muir who took an interest in the environment at a young age. Muir’s first curiosity sparked in with songbirds. In 1849 the Muir family moved to America where John’s father pursued farming in doing so pulled John and his brother out of school to help keep up with the farm. John began to teach his self-coming up with devices that measured temperature, atmospheric pressure, and a star clock. Discovering part of his father’s new land, John began to study pounds and meadows and the life there, admiring the land. By the time John Muir was twenty-two he had created several more inventions in which he used to pay for school at the university in Madison Wisconsin. John spent four years at the university before the war broke out in 1861. Running away from the war John’s next stop was Ontario, Canada where he turned his attention to habitat and plant life. This book explains a lot about nature so it is very informational for kids. The pages are a little busy but not to much that it cant be overlooked.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the journeys of John Muir were interesting, it felt like the book missed the mark just a little. There were gaps in John Muir's life that weren't covered, and somehow the story still felt more like a book report than a book about the man.

[Pam Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating biography of John Muir, an environmentalist from the 1800's who was the founder of the Sierra Club. In our age of cell phones, video games, movies, etc. children will wonder how John Muir set off on his travels with so little (a piece of bread in his pocket on a trip to explore a glacier!). Yet he needed very little because he loved the beauty of the wilderness and felt it "should never be touched or changed or disturbed in any way". From Scotland to Alaska we follow John as he creates all types of inventions, builds a "hanging nest" over a stream to live in, and navigates glaciers. I felt as if I had been on a wondrous adventure by the end of the book. This would make a great read aloud and companion to The Camping Trip That Changed American by Barb Rosenstock. Quotes from the book are taken from John Muir's own writings and more information about the Sierra Club is found at the end.

[Chris Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a lot I didn't know about John Muir before reading this book. His father didn't want learning to distract John distracted from farm work, so he was told he had to wake up early in the morning if he wanted to study. So John woke up at 1:00 am every day to teach himself math and science. He was an inventor, creating saw mills, clocks, and a bed that tilts up to wake you in the morning (maybe to help him make his 1:00 am study appointments). He was a draft-dodger, heading up to Canada to avoid fighting in the Civil War. But more than anything, he was passionate about nature, and Lasky and Fellows bring this passion to life. I wish I could have known Muir, a man who packed a change of underwear, a comb, a bar of soap and a journal and trekked across wilderness for thousands of miles.

[Carol Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of John Muir is an excellent introduction, with gorgeous illustrations by Stan Fellows. It takes the reader through the life of this great man from the time he was a little boy to the founding of the Sierra Club in his fifties. One really gets a sense of the person and his love of nature. The chapters are well organized and follow his life chronologically, and there is a good list of resources, an afterword about the Sierra Club with information on how to join it, and a good index. The only thing that would have made the book even better would be a timeline, which would have cleared up some confusion this reader had about the sequence of events described on pages 12-13. A timeline would also have given his exact dates of birth and death, which are not mentioned in the book.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

For its intended age group, this biography of environmentalist John Muir describes his early years and his love for the great outdoors. Once he realizes that the natural resources he loves may not last forever without some protection, he channels much of his energy into their preservation. Thanks in part to his influence, the nation established several national parks. The text is lively and relies a great deal on Muir's writings to provide a sense of this determined and dedicated man while the acrylic illustrations offer ready testimony to the singular beauty of the wild places that Muir wanted to remain wild. Young readers in search of a cause to which they can commit might find ready inspiration in this book.

[Kate Detjen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows the story of the young man John Muir. He was born in Scotland and later moved to America because his father wanted to become a farmer. This story follows his adventures from the swamps of Florida to Alaska. John Muir loved the outdoors, and was always fascinated by nature and land. He became a famous writer, inventor, farmer but most importantly he became America’s first environmentalist! He is the reason America has any national parks. His commitment to the wasteland and nature kept this part of America safe.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and informative book covering the life of John Muir. The illustrations were lovely and I enjoyed learning about his early life (something that I had not found covered in other picture books.) I think this book would be better received by its target audience in a small chapter book format. Most older kids may dismiss this as a baby book, and younger kids would not sit through such a lengthy read.