Chapter 1
Creatures Great and Small

Rachel Carson was born in Springdale, Pennsylvania, on May 27, 1907. Her mother, Maria McLean, was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. She had been a schoolteacher who also gave private piano lessons. Maria was forced to give up her job when she married Robert Carson, since married women were not allowed to teach in Pennsylvania at the time.

Rachel’s father, Robert, owned sixty-five acres of farmland and woods in Springdale, a town about fifteen miles north of Pittsburgh, near the Allegheny River. The property included a small two-story house, a barn, outhouses, a chicken coop, and a springhouse.

The Carsons kept a few pigs, horses, cows, and chickens. By the time Rachel was born, she already had two older siblings—a sister, Marian, and a brother, Robert Jr.

Rachel and her dog, Candy, spent a lot of time exploring the land that surrounded their home. The woods and fields were full of all kinds of plants, animals, and insects, and Rachel was fascinated by all of them. Rachel’s brother and sister were much older, so Rachel spent a lot of time alone. But she didn’t mind, as she considered all the creatures her friends. She watched birds making their nests, butterflies flitting through the grass, and fish swimming in the streams.

Although the rushing water of the streams made Rachel happy, her biggest dream was to see the ocean. Rachel’s mother had a conch shell, and Rachel loved holding it to her ear. She would pretend she could hear the ocean’s waves rushing up and down the beach.

Rachel’s mother was an avid bird-watcher. She also believed it was important for young people to study nature. Mrs. Carson taught Rachel that people must share the world with other creatures and be respectful of them. She would watch as her mother carried insects out of the house. Rachel’s mother didn’t even own a flyswatter!

Rachel and her mother would take long walks in the fields and woods. When Rachel had questions about the things they saw, her mother would answer them. If she wasn’t able to answer Rachel’s question, she would show Rachel how to find the answer in books about science and nature.

Rachel actually persuaded her brother to stop hunting rabbits on the family’s property, because they reminded her of the characters in the Beatrix Potter books her mother read to her.

Rachel started school in the fall of 1913. She loved school and learning, but she spent many days at home. If the weather was too cold, Rachel stayed at home and was taught by her mother. If other children in the class were ill, Mrs. Carson didn’t want to take the chance of Rachel getting sick. Even though Rachel missed a lot of school, she was usually an A student. Mrs. Carson was an excellent teacher; she had been a schoolteacher, after all.