the john muir exhibit - bibliographic_resources - book_jackets - camping with the president by ginger wadsworth
Camping with the President
By Ginger Wadsworth
Illustrated by Karen Dugan
(
from the book's dust jacket
)
Camping with the President
by Ginger Wadsworth - Illustrated by Karen Dugan
(Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek Books, 2009) Hardcover, 32 pages.
Ages: 8 and up
Grades: 4–6
Imagine a U.S. president on a camping trip. It seems unlikely today, but in
May 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt dismissed his Secret Service men and
sent away reporters and dignitaries to go camping with John Muir, the world-famous
naturalist. For three glorious nights and four days in California's Yosemite
national Park, the two men talked about birds, giant sequoia trees, glaciers,
as well as the importance of preserving wilderness for future generations.
They slept under the stars, built blazing campfires, traveled on horseback,
and enjoyed the beauty and the uniqueness of the area. "It was bully," President
Roosevelt said on his last morning as he climbed into his stagecoach and waved
good-bye to John Muir. Setting aside new national parks and monuments became
one of the cornerstones of Roosevelt's presidency and was a direct result
of this camping trip.
Author Ginger Wadsworth, who has written about Yosemite and Muir before, and
illustrator Karen Dugan carefully research this true story, relying on primary
documents and working closely with experts in the field. Camping with the
President shows how two individuals were powerfully affected by one of
the world's most spectacular natural wonders, Yosemite National Park, and by
each other.
About the Author
Ginger Wadsworth is an award-winning author of children's
books. She loves the history of the American West and often explores forts,
ghost towns, museums, and even old cemeteries. She lives in northern California
near John Muir's ranch, now a historic site. Yosemite National Park, the setting
for this book, is one of her favorite spots for camping, hiking, and bird watching.
Besides touring Sagamore HIll, Theodore Roosevelt's home in New York, she has
visited Pine Knot, the President's rustic vacation cabin in Virginia. Some
of Ginger's titles include John Muir, Wilderness Protector, Giant
Sequoia Trees, and
Words West: Voices of Young Pioneers, winner of the Spur Award
for Juvenile Nonfiction from the Western Writers of America.
About the Artist
Karen Dugan has worked on more than twenty-five books, eight
with Boyds Mills Press, including If I had a Snowplow by Jean
L.S. Patrick; Tea Party Today: Poems to Sip and Savor by Eileen
Spinelli; and
Mr. Tuggle's Troubles by LeeAnn Blankenship, which was named a
Notable Children's Book by the International Reading Association. Her love
of history and research began while working at the eighteenth-century Van Cortlandt
Manor in New York.She lives in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Calkins Creek
An Imprint of Boyds Mills Press, Inc.
815 Church St.
Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431
See Annotation in Children's Books section of Annotated John Muir Bibliography.
For an excellent preview of this book, see the Book
Trailer for Camping with the President on YouTube. (off-site link)