Gene Stratton-Porter - Bibliography

A Note Regarding Resources: Items are listed on this page that enhance work with the topic discussed. Some older items, especially, may include dated practices and ideas that are no longer generally accepted. Resources reflecting current practices are noted whenever possible.

Long, Judith Reick. Gene Stratton-Porter: Novelist and Naturalist. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1990.
Provides an overview of Mrs. Porter's life and work, using official records and other resources to establish more accurately dates and incidents.

MacLean, David G. Gene Stratton-Porter: A Bibliography and Collector's Guide. Decatur, IN: Americana Books, 1976.
Useful reference for books and magazine articles by and about Mrs. Porter.

Meehan, Jeannette Porter. The Lady of the Limberlost: The Life and Letters of Gene Stratton-Porter. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1928.
Meehan provides insight into her mother's personal and professional life; quotes many letters and other writings not otherwise available.

Richards, Bertrand F. Gene Stratton Porter. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980.
Good reference on her writing and reception by critics and the public.

Wallace, Frank N. "Gene Stratton-Porter and Her Studies of Native Plants", mimeograph typescript, [1925], Indiana Division, Indiana State Library.
Paper read at the March 1925 meeting of the Garden Flowers Society, Fort Wayne.

Works by Gene Stratton-Porter

The following items were used in preparing this issue:

Homing with the Birds: The History of a Lifetime of Personal Experience with the Birds. 1919.
Let Us Highly Resolve. 1927.
Moths of the Limberlost. 1921.
Tales You Won't Believe. 1925.
What I Have Done with Birds. 1907.
"Why I Always Wear My Rose-Colored Glasses," The American Magazine (August 1919), 36-37, 112, 114, 117, 118, 121.
Indiana University Press has reprinted Freckles, The Girl of the Limberlost, The Harvester, The Keeper of the Bees, and Laddie.

Selected Student Resources

Asher, Sandy. Wild Words! How to Train Them to Tell Stories. New York: Walker and Company, 1989.
Advice for young creative writers, including how to put ideas on paper. Intermediate readers.

Bellamy, David. Our Changing World: The Roadside. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc./Publishers, 1988.
Colorful illustrations help to tell how the balance of nature is disrupted in a wilderness area when a highway is constructed. Intermediate readers.

Challand, Helen J. Disappearing Wetlands. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1992.
The ecological role of wetlands, including how wetlands are formed and what life they support.

Dubrovin, Vivian. Write Your Own Story. New York: Franklin Watts, 1984.
Some of the ways to write a short story. Beginning readers.

Evans, Art. First Photos: How Kids Can Take Great Pictures. Redondo Beach, CA: Photo Data Research, 1992.
An easy to read introduction to basic photography.

Hilton, Jonathan, and Barrie Watts, consultant eds. Photography. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press, 1994.
Excellent work on cameras, how to take good photographs, and how to correct the most common mistakes. More advanced readers.

Lasky, Kathryn. Think Like an Eagle: At Work with a Wildlife Photographer. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1992.
A professional photographer tracks wildlife in three regions of the United States. Advanced readers.

Leslie, Clare Walker. Nature All Year Long. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1991.
A simple text and good illustrations describing different plants, animals, and landscapes outdoors during each month of the year. Early readers.

Liptak, Karen. Saving Our Wetlands and Their Wildlife. New York: Franklin Watts, 1991.
Different types of wetlands and their wildlife are described in this easy to read work.

Parker, Philip. Your Living Home. New York: Thomson Learning, 1995.
Excellent, easy resource on household ecology, including insect life found in most urban dwellings.

Silver, Donald M. One Small Square Pond. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1994.
Excellent work for intermediate readers on pond ecology with activities and outstanding illustrations.

Sisson, Edith A. Nature with Children of All Ages. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1982.
Excellent resource for educators including activities and chapter bibliographies. Can be read by intermediate readers.

Other Resources

Special thanks to Margie Sweeny, Curator, and Pat Bolman, Naturalist, of the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site, Box 639, Rome City, IN 46784. Call 219-854-3790 for information, hours, and tours available.

Limberlost State Historic Site, Box 356, Geneva, IN 46740. Call 219-368-7428 for information, hours, and tours available.

Indiana Humanities Council, 1500 North Delaware Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, 317-638-1500, has Mrs. Porter's books available for loan and will allow modest grant funds for a performance by Marcia Quick, an actress who portrays Mrs. Porter.

Gene Stratton-Porter: Voice of the Limberlost. To borrow the documentary video, contact the Indiana Humanities Council, 317-638-1500. To purchase the video, contact Ball State University, Office of Academic Research, 317-285-1600.