Candice F. Ransom Bücher

From the time she was a very young girl, Rachel Carson felt a bond with nature. Growing up in Pennsylvania, she spent hours exploring meadows and woods, dreaming of seeing the ocean. As Rachel grew older, she combined her gift for writing with her love of nature, producing award-winning books about the sea. But her best-known achievement was the publication of Silent Spring, an account of the dangerous effects of pesticides on plants and animals. With Silent Spring, Rachel helped create a movement to ban these harmful chemicals. Her findings helped to assure that future generations would be able to dream about the ocean and listen to crickets.

Christmas in the nations capital is marvelous-and Olivias getting to see it all, from the gorgeous trees sparkling near the White House to the fabulous Sculpture Garden where she and cousin James ice skate on the frozen fountain surrounded by statues. And of course, there are plenty of monuments, memorials, and museums-like the amazing Smithsonian, with the ruby-red slippers from The Wizard of Oz -and adorable pandas in the zoo, too!