The Sense of Wonder

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in...If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life."--Rachel Carson

First published more than three decades ago, this award-winning classic brings Rachel Carson's unique vision to a new generation of readers. The Sense of Wonder relates Carson's intimate account of adventures with her young nephew, Roger, as they enjoy walks along the rocky coast of Maine and through dense forests and open fields, observing wildlife, strange plants, moonlight, and storm clouds and listening to the living music of insects in the underbrush. It is a refreshing antidote to indifference and a guide to capturing the simple power of discovery that Carson views as essential to life.

The Sense of Wonder is a timeless volume that will be passed on from parent to child to grandchild, as treasured as the memory of an early morning walk when the song of a bird was heard as if for the first time.

Rachel L. Carson (1907-1964) earned a graduate degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins in 1932, in an era when few women went to college. She was the first woman to pass the civil service exam and went on to work with the Fish and Wildlife Service, where she became chief editor of publications. Her gift for writing about technical science in clear, poetic prose eventually led to a full time writing career, culminating with her controversial Silent Spring, one of the most influential books of the century. She is often called the mother of the modern environmental movement. Two years after Silent Spring was published she died of cancer, possibly due to the very pesticides she warned against in her book.

Kaiulani Lee has thirty-five years of experience in theater, film, and television, and has starred in over a dozen plays on and off Broadway. She has been nominated for the Drama Desk Award on Broadway and has won the Obie Award for outstanding achievement off Broadway.