Blog

The story of the week is A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry. This exquisitely rendered depiction of the history of the Nashua River flows from when it was first settled by an Algonquin-speaking Indian people, through the Industrial Revolution and its subsequent ravages, and up to the relatively successful environmental movement to clean it up. Besides being an environmental history of the river, the book introduces certain facts of American history, such as how the “settler’s rifles drove the Indians from the land,” that are essential for young people to understand if we are to navigate our way out of the darkness of violence, racial hate, and ecological destruction.  It also offers an ideal, ever elusive , but nonetheless compelling and uplifting where the “Nashua people saw a rhythm in their lives and in the seasons. The river, land,  and forest provided all they needed.” Lynne Cherry has written many other wonderful nature themed children’s books including the essential “The Great Kapok Tree.” Enjoy.