Fire!

by Celia Godkin

"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' Association's Science in Society Journalism Award nominee, Youth Book category, 2007" It hasn't rained in the forest for many weeks. And in the sunny clearing, everything is dry and scorched. Then, late one afternoon, a hot wind begins to blow and storm clouds gather. But instead of rain, lightning fills the sky and strikes a tall tree beside the clearing. The lightning strike shoots down the tree and ignites the dry vegetation below. In no time, the forest is engulfed in flame. Soon there is nothing left but the charred ruins of the forest, devoid of life. But the story is not over. Slowly and gradually, life returns to the forest - from the seeds that blow in on the wind and germinate - to the small creatures that have survived in their burrows below the ground. It will take many years; but eventually the forest will return, filled with life once more.

Genres: Picture Books, Science, Nonfiction, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

After a number of years working as a biologist Celia decided to go back to school to train as a scientific illustrator. She completed the diploma course at the Ontario College of Art and an illustrated Master’s thesis in zoology at the University of Toronto, and began work as a freelance artist, illustrating textbooks and scientific papers.


In 2004, after many years of living in Toronto, Celia and her husband, O. John Hawkins, moved to Eastern Ontario. Here she continues working on books and - a new line of work - designing coins for the Royal Canadian Mint.

Reviews

[Hailey Licata · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was awesome, and can be used as an awesome classroom tool, especially here in Maine. I highly enjoyed the last two pages adding about forest burning and regrowth! I enjoyed how each page had their own little picture circled of a part of nature and its name. This can be used in all grades in various ways with various tasks/lesson plans.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good basic book with lovely illustrations about the process of forest regeneration following a fire.

[Lindsey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a really good educational book. While I think this would be better for older students, this book talks about what happens if there is a forest fire. While it can be scary, there is always life that comes afterward. I really liked the illustrations, they were pretty realistic and the author/illustrator did such an amazing job putting everything together.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations and text in this book describe the eco-system of a forest. From a mature healthy forest, through a fire, the renewal of the forest from the smallest plants and then the return to maturity.

An excellent source to help children learn about the beneficial aspects of a forest fire.