Marjory Saves the Everglades: The Story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas (2020) by Sandra Neil Wallace & Art by Rebecca Gibbon

I am bringing back a previous picture book review from a few years ago, as the story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas captivated me and her activism in the Everglades is now quite relevant as the federal government builds an internment camp called Alligator Alcatraz within the Everglades.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a Wellesley graduate (1912), a Miami Herald journalist, a World War I Naval Reservist, an environmentalist, a feminist and suffragette, an activist…and she accomplished all this by being a “nuisance” and living to the age of 108! She died in 1998, the year after I graduated from high school, but I wish we had been friends. All of her accomplishments are brilliant, but her claim to fame is her unwavering support and defense of the Everglades. In 1920, Marjory returned to Florida from Europe, where she had been reporting on the refugee crisis caused by World War I. She was devastated to see commercial development destroying the Everglades. Marjory devoted her time and energy to learning everything about the Everglades and its important ecosystem. She then successfully lobbied the U.S. President and Governor of Florida to make it a National Park. Her work did not stop there - she continually had to fight to keep the Everglades safe from degradation. 

Heart: As some of you may know, I am a gun violence prevention activist. I got involved in this movement after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In the “Author’s Note,” Sandra Neil Wallace notes that the Parkland students have followed in Marjory’s footsteps, becoming activists fighting for positive change. 

Head: With the impending climate crisis, Florida will undoubtedly experience more floods and more hurricanes. Now is the time to follow “Marjory’s Tips for Protecting the Environment: 1. Join a local environmental group… 2. Study the issues… 3. Speak Up, learn to talk clearly and forcefully in public 4. Be a Nuisance… 5. Never Give Up.”