Bob Marshall

“This beautifully illustrated children's book tells the inspiring story of Bob Marshall, who grew up to be a defender of the wilderness. . . . An afterword, timeline and biography further enrich this fascinating book.” — Jennifer Bohnhoff , Western Writers of America, Roundup Magazine , April 2024 Issue

All his life, Bob Marshall craved adventure and being in nature. He knew and liked how different the city was from the wilderness. He also understood the importance of both. Bob was born in New York City in 1901 into a German-Jewish family. Outside his window, taxis honked and buses belched smoky air. But when summer came, Bob and his family left the city for the Adirondack Mountains. There, his parents taught him to identify plants, to love and cherish nature, and to fight for civil rights.

Bob learned these lessons well. He decided that he would protect the wild places from the cars, trucks, and trains that threatened them. His college studies of forestry and environmental science and Ph.D. in plant physiology led Bob to jobs with the U.S. Forest Service and as Chief of Forestry with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1935, Bob joined with like-minded folks to form The Wilderness Society, eventually resulting in the Wilderness Act of 1964.

Entirely through his own efforts, Bob Marshall saved five million acres of American wilderness. Alongside others, he contributed to the protection of over 110 million acres of wilderness. Though he died young, at the age of 38, Bob’s dedication to preserving the wild places left a lasting legacy. Thanks to Bob Marshall, there are still places in America where people can listen to the wind in the trees, scramble up a mountain, and perhaps spot a grizzly cub (or two).

Linda Elovitz Marshall grew up in suburban Boston and studied anthropology in New York City at Barnard College/Columbia University, but she always dreamed of living on a farm. While in college, she met (and later married) a then-medical student named Bob Marshall (unrelated to this book’s Bob Marshall). They hiked, canoed, and explored NY's Adirondack mountains and eventually moved to a Hudson River Valley farm where they raised sheep, chickens, rabbits, and four children. Linda’s careers have included: sheep farmer, anthropologist, bookstore owner, teacher, and author of award-winning books. Many of her almost two dozen books are set on her farm or inspired by nature. Linda and Bob now divide their time between the Adirondacks and NYC (and, once again, Linda dreams about living on a farm).

Jeanne Bowman was born (more or less) with a crayon in her hand and never stopped putting marks on paper (or the walls, to her mother’s chagrin). She grew up loving the mountains and forests but has spent the majority of her life on the plains of Montana and the desert of New Mexico. She has illustrated The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde, Charlie Russell and the Gnomes of Bullhead Lodge by Emily Crawford Wilson, Bob Marshall: Defender of the Wilderness by Linda Elovitz Marshall, and Georgia Jipp: Blizzard Pilot by Laura Beth Dean. Jeanne received the 2022 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Illustrator of the Year for her work on Charlie Russell and the Gnomes and the 2025 Moonbeam Award for Best Illustrations for Georgia Jipp , which also won a Spur Award for best Children’s Picture Book. She currently resides in Sidney, MT.