Fire!: A Renewal of a Forest

by Celia Godkin

Book Overview

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction Honour Book, 2007 Silver Birch Express shortlist, 2008 Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice 2007 finalist Canadian Science Writers'... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1550418890
• ISBN13: 9781550418897
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 0.4" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

This Book Will Create A Burning Interest in How Fires Happen!

Fire! The Renewal of a Forest bills itself as "an informational storybook" on the cover and I'd say that's just about the perfect description for this book. Aimed at kids from ages 4-8, the reader is taken on a brief journey from old forest growth (and what that entails); the cycle of life in the forest (trees and animals); what weather conditions have to be present for a fire to occur (dry & lightening); how the fire moves and spreads as well as what are some natural barriers to continued spread; and the cycle of re-growth and return of wildlife after the fire. Each page set contains a bit of text that explains fully the cycle from start to finish in simple (well written and easy to understand) language. Rather than having something different going on each page, the author gives a two page spread so the reader gets a full length panoramic spread of the forest with inset bubbles that showcase animals, conditions, and/or plants...kind of spotlighting specific parts of the forest and brining additional information to the reader to add to the text on the page. The illustrations are stunning and do a good job in evoking the feel of they type of forest (old growth, new growth, newly burned) in the text and there is even a two page spread at the end that illustrates the entire cyclical process which is very well done. At the end there is a short list of additional web resources for students and teachers to use in finding out more about forest fires (which my kiddies particularly liked). Overall, this is an excellent start for young readers in understanding how and why forest fires (the natural variety) start, why they are necessary and even healthy for the forest and animals while down playing the threat to homes and people...there is the briefest mention of "most animals escaping" and of homes needing to be protected from forest fires or fires stared by people (only one mention in the entire book). The author stresses forest fires as a natural and necessary occurrence in a way that is very non-frightening to young readers. The artwork for the book is a perfect match to the text and was visually interesting from page to page with surprisingly little repetition. It was also nice that the inset bubbles echoed animals and plants in the larger panoramic double page view, this made for something extra the kids could look for and talk about while we read the book. I give it five stars, it's well done and an excellent book for readers ages 4-8, this would make a fine classroom book particularly in areas where forest fires are a yearly (or nearly yearly) occurrence.