Harriet's Ruffled Feathers The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds

Meet the inspiring woman whose love of fashion led her to start a conservation movement and found the Massachusetts Audubon Society in this lively picture book biography.

Harriet Lawrence Hemenway loved hats. She loved them with ribbons and flowers, embroidery and pearls. And feathers! What was better than a hat with grand, glorious feathers? But then Harriet discovered that millions of birds died so that she and her friends could soar at the height of style. A passion for fashion was one thing, but this was feather-brained!

So Harriet led the charge to take feathers out of fashion, getting laws passed that made it illegal to buy or sell wild bird feathers. In 1896, she and her fellow bird protectors founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society, which grew into a national organization that still protects birds today! Additional information about conservation can be found in the backmatter of this engaging picture book.

Joy McCullough writes books and plays from her home in the Seattle area, where she lives with her husband and two children. She is the author of the middle grade novels Across the Pond and A Field Guide to Getting Lost and the picture books Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers and Champ and Major: First Dogs. Her debut novel Blood Water Paint was long-listed for the National Book Award and was a William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist. Visit her at JoyMcCullough.com.