My friend Barry has a new book out next week! I am so honored to share some pics of this beautiful book with you.
THE DAY THE RIVER CAUGHT FIRE is the story of the Cuyahoga River explosion in Cleveland, Ohio in 1969. Sparks from a passing train struck the polluted river and —KABOOM — ignited a fire! (Gosh, we humans have made a real mess, haven’t we?!) The wild thing is… the river, stretching through Akron to Cleveland at Lake Erie, had caught on fire THIRTEEN TIMES since 1886! All because of the toxic soup of junk and garbage that people had dumped into what was once a sparkling clean, thriving habitat for wildlife.
Barry zeroes in on the moment in history when people finally had enough of the KABOOMING. No more!
Young readers will learn how the Clean Air and Water Acts were passed, thanks in part to the work of Carl Stokes, one of America’s first Black mayors of a major American city. A movement was underway: within the year, the first Earth Day was celebrated across the US! Jessie Hartland’s charming illustrations capture the spirit of the global collective energy around creating a new relationship with our planet. (A half century later, that urgency is of course even greater.)
Barry created yet another beautiful and important book for children, and what better time than now to share this story with young readers in your life! We all have the power to make a real difference. Here’s to hoping we all use it.
THE DAY THE RIVER CAUGHT FIRE by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Jessie Hartland.
A Paula Wiseman Book. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (2023).
