Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society
The Missouri Historical Society Press is releasing a book ideal for children ages 3–7 who love history. Ruth’s River Dreams, written by Elizabeth A. Pickard and illustrated by Catherine G. Sibley, reimagines the life of river historian Ruth Ferris, who lived from 1891–1993. After becoming fascinated with the Mississippi River as a child, Ferris spent her life learning and teaching about river boating and the powerful waterway. Here, the author discusses Ferris’ legacy and how she brought it to life for young readers.
What inspired you to write this book? I was working at the Missouri History Museum, and we were in a meeting with our partners at the St. Louis Mercantile Library. One of the key artifacts at the museum is the Golden Eagle Pilot House and Ruth Ferris played a key role in rescuing that. It sunk and was visible above the waterline. Ruth helped in rescuing it. After she retired from Community School, where she taught for many years, Ruth took a job at the Missouri History Museum and all of her collection is at the Mercantile Library. She is a central figure to any study of the inland waterways of Missouri because of her lifelong passion. Because she was an elementary teacher for her career, we thought what better way would there be to tell her story than a children’s book. I was super excited by the prospect and asked if I could write it.
How long did you research Ferris before writing? It probably took about two months as I researched and figured out how to shape the story. I spent a lot of time in both the Missouri Historical Society and the Mercantile Library archives. The Mercantile has her personal collection as well as her waterways collection. I was able to look through old photo albums of hers. One of the features of that collection are these woodcuts she made as Christmas cards, so in the book, when Ruth dreams, we picture the woodcuts she made for many years.
Tell us about some of the highlights of the book. My historian’s training is to say that this is a made-up story about a real-life person. It's an image of what Ruth’s childhood would have been like and how dreams about the river shaped her career. The book is really about how dreams can shape the way that we live, and Ruth Ferris is someone who was transformed by finding an account of a riverboat journey by her grandmother. It shaped her teaching methods, it shaped her passions, it shaped the work that she did for the rest of her life. The one major change that I made was that in the book, Ruth discovers her grandmother’s autobiography when she was young, but Ruth actually found it while she was in college and doing research at the school her grandmother taught at. Ruth Ferris said her grandmother’s account of the incredible riverboat journey set her afire to learn more and more about the river.
What are some of the places you take readers? Ruth grew up in Moberly, Missouri, and moved to St. Louis as a young teacher. The big thing is that the pilothouse sat on the grounds of the Community School (where Ferris taught) for many years. I was told by a teacher that the infusion of riverboats at the school shaped the way the building is structured still today.
What do you hope children take away from reading this book? Sometimes when children are daydreaming, people think it’s just a childish daydream and don’t take them seriously. In the 1930s, Ruth bought an artifact logbook of a riverboat journey, and her family was outraged she would spend the money on it during the Great Depression. Yet, we owe so much of what we know now to her being able to rescue those artifacts and preserve them, and now they are part of the Inland Waterways collection the Mercantile Library. You can follow your dreams and even though people think they are misled, they often can lead to something wonderful.
How do the book's illustrations help share Ruth’s story? One of the things I love about the illustrations is that they are colorful and vibrant. I think when books are written about the past, there is a tendency to put the pictures in a sepia tone that doesn't work as well. Catherine A. Sibley did such an incredible job making Ruth look like a real girl that really lived and really dreamed about these things—and truly made a difference with her life.
