Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers, an illustrated avian book that charms and educates

Can you believe people still wear fur coats? That’s what some people think. However, let’s take that idea, go back more than 100 years and imagine that real fur coats, as well as, other apparel, are the norm. Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers, The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds examines that time when millions of birds were killed annually for the purpose of brightly colored feathers. Those feathers were then used to accessorize women’s hats. This was a time when garden parties and the women who attended them were all the rage.

(having said that, birds are quite smart, especially crows. We apologize to any birds that were offended by our ‘read more’ tag.)

Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers is the story of Harriet Lawrence, an American lady who loved dressing up, entertaining society-type friends, and everything that came with it. One of the major accoutrements that accompanied that era was big hats with fancy plumes. All of Lawrence’s friends had hats of all sorts, with a societal pecking order who whose hat was the biggest, most colorful, or the rarest.

Her attitude about these decorative feathers changed when she read an article in the paper about how many birds are killed for their feathers. Because it wasn’t as though the birds were lining up at a feather donation drive for society’s fashion, was it? Back then, women proactively speaking about a pseudo politically charged subject was not the norm.

Many in Lawrence’s social circle thought that what she was doing was out of place or scandalous. However, one of her friends stepped up and the two of them started having garden parties of their own, but this time they were to spread the word about the foul treatment birds were receiving when it came to fashion.

That led to a boycott where 900 Boston women refused to buy hats that were accessorized with bird’s feathers. Soon the two women were co-hosting lectures that featured bird scientists and the importance of conservation. By now their movement in Massachusetts had grown statewide and they formed the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The next year their idea had doubled like a Faberge commercial and there were 111 Audubon Society groups around the country.

They had fundraisers, met with President Theodore Roosevelt-who created federal bird reservations and influenced Queen Victoria in England, who heard about them and said that she’d never wear feathers again. There’s more to the story, and that’s just of the things that are so special about Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers.

It’s a non-fiction story that’s told in an engaging manner that makes kids curious, as well as, wanting to find out how it ends. This is also a story that most adults won’t know. Students/kids: it’s always great when you know something, either an animal fact or a story about a real person that you can share with those older than you.

The art in Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers compliments the true nature of the story also. They’re by Romina Galotta and have the realistic appearance that the story requires, yet are playful and engaging for those younger to middle elementary school readers who are enjoying the book. It’s also the rare illustrated book that’s entertaining enough for those younger kids to stay with it, but also has a slightly more complex story that older readers can dive deeper into. This is added onto by the fact that there are two pages that add details about Harriet’s life, what is conservation and a craft where kids can make their own binoculars. And for those with the really big brains, there’s a bibliography, with a couple of books and a handful of links to where those super curious kids can satiate their gray matter.

Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers, The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds is by Joy McCullough with illustrations by Romina Gallotta and available on Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

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