THE NATIONAL PARKS

Get your park passports stamped!

Wisecracking Bigfoot (who in this book symbolizes the National Parks) and Eagle narrate this in-depth exploration of the “recreational areas, historic sites, monuments, landscapes, seashores, [and] ecosystems” that make up the parks system. The story begins in 1850 with Yosemite, then a state park and America’s first large nature park. When Eagle points out the land had been the home of the Ahwahnechee, Bigfoot explains that “early Anglo-Americans didn’t see it that way” and “arrogantly believed they had the authority to tell all Indigenous people where and how to live!” These attitudes unfortunately continued. The complicated politics and practical aspects of preservation versus conservation are anchored in time as different presidents approve new parks. Koch covers Lewis and Clark; John Muir; the Buffalo Soldiers, who experienced racism as they enforced rules at Yosemite; journalist Virginia McClurg, who took a stand against the looting of Mesa Verde; Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who advocated for the Everglades to be made into a national park; and women who worked in the parks as rangers, naturalists, and cultural demonstrators in the 1920s. Digitally created illustrations portray contemporary park visitors as diverse.

Sassy guides lead readers through a witty yet complicated history of the national parks.