How the Forest Grew

by William Jaspersohn, Chuck Eckart (Illustrator)

This book could be about any forest because most forests grow the same way. First, the land is open and green. Then, the changes begin. "Careful explanation, an elegant, reverent style, and beautiful illustrations highlight this chronology of a forest's growth." -- Booklist.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Childrens, Nature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Anne White]

I read this with my kids in the early elementary years. It's about a hardwood forest in Massachusetts, and how it grew and changed over the years. I like it because it doesn't try to be cute or avoid some of the realities of life in the forest: the "weasels and foxes who caught mice, rabbits, and birds for their dinner," and a storm that strikes some trees with lightning and uproots others. It's clear that what seems unpleasant to us is making way for something else. "As time passed, insects and disease hurt the other pines. Every time one of them died, a red oak, white ash, or red maple tree took its place."

[Olivia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I guess it was good, but the only reason I read it was for science.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not amazing as a story but it is really educational. You learn about plants and the animals that like to live in certain environments. The illustrations are very nice and they add to the book.

I learned:

- white pine, cedar, birch, poplar, and Aspen trees are sun loving trees

- (white) ash, red oak, red maple, and tulip trees are shade loving trees but like a little light

-beeches, and sugar maple trees like the deep shade

- the first trees that take hold of a land are called "pioneer trees"

-"succession"

-"middle stage"

-"humus"

-"understory"


Most forests have 3 stages of growth: the pioneer stage, the middle stage, and the final/climax stage

A full grown forest has 5 layers: the canopy, the understory, the shrub layer, the herbal layer, and the forest floor

Fungi live on rotting trees and plants.

Signs of animal life in a forest: tracks, scat, (feathers, fur, or snakeskins), (nests, burrows, dens), & (bones, skeletons)

Poisonous plants in a forest: poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac

* Never pull bark off a tree because the bare spot may bring disease and insects

*Never girdle a tree. You will kill it.
(From wikipedia: Girdling, also called ring-barking, is the complete removal of the bark from around the entire circumference of either a branch or trunk of a woody plant. Girdling results in the death of the area above the girdle over time)

[Kim Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book that shows the change that happens over decades of natural growth. It encourages the reader to look around and imagine what the land around them might have looked like years ago. I love the activity suggestions at the end of the book.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written narrative of a Massachusetts forest. Text is printed in a way that makes it accessible for independent reading. Rich details and beautiful illustrations drew me into the text.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pen and ink drawings.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the vocabulary, the way it speaks to the reader, and the extended facts about forests and trees in general.