​Young Author Writes Kids' History Of Greendale

GREENDALE, WI -- When Colette and Eileen Booth moved to Greendale with their family in 2013, it was in a large part for the unique history of the village. They've grown to love Greendale and published a book about the village's origins.

Eileen and Colette wrote and illustrated A History of Greendale For Kids for everyone who loves Greendale.

One day whole home sick from school, Colette opened up a self-book publishing kit she got as a gift, and encouraged her mom to help her write with it. They commenced planning and writing the book on that day and many more subsequent days over a year.

After exhaustive research on Greenbelt towns, W.P.A. initiatives and local archives, Eileen and Colette wrote the first of several drafts. After more revisions and making the language “less grown-uppy,” they worked together to sketch and hand-color illustrations that synthesized the ideas on each page. After many more hours of honing the book with digital layouts they self-published their first copy.

Colette said she loved learning about the history of Greendale while earning a community badge with her Canterbury Elementary Girl Scout troop, when Eileen volunteered as one of her troop leaders.

Having earned a Masters of Science in History Preservation from Ball State , Eileen knew the value and importance of innovative urban planning initiatives.

“Levittown, Pennsylvania served as my first introduction to planned communities,” Eileen said. “I found it fascinating that the production of the homes were modeled after assembly lines so that the completed structures could be effectively built in a single day for returning World War II veterans and their families. William Levitt, who began construction in 1952 has often been credited as the creator of the modern American suburb, although I would argue that other successful initiatives predated his project.”

The Greenbelt towns idea originated from the “Garden- City Movement” of the early 19th Century. Sometimes dismissed for being utopian and overly idealistic, this movement promoted self-sufficient, suburban communities surrounded by greenbelts of land. FDR supported the
idea of greenbelt towns as a solution to resettle thousands of Americans displaced during the Great Depression. This history and events are illustrated in full-color in A History of Greendale for Kids.

Their book is for sale at the Greendale Visitor’s Center, 5680 Broad Street, for $25.00. For every purchase, a portion of the sale goes to the artist/authors as well as the Village of Greendale.