Where Once There Was a Wood

by Denise Fleming

Deer live in the woods, rabbits live in meadows, fish live in creeks, and people live in houses. We all need homes. But we need not destroy one while building another.

This eloquent book shows young readers how people and animals can live side by side. Starting, of course, in our own backyards!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Poetry, Science, Childrens, Nature, Environment

34 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Denise Fleming has written and illustrated many children’s picture books, including In the Tall, Tall Grass, Shout! Shout It Out!, and Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy. She won a Caldecott Honor for In the Small, Small Pond. Denise creates her colorful illustrations by pouring colored paper pulp through hand-cut stencils. She lives in Toledo, Ohio.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/denise...
http://www.simonandschuster.com/autho...

Reviews

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a cautious tale about everything that is lost when a wooded area is removed.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about where once there was a wood ... now sit houses side by side, twenty houses deep.

Ages: 3 - 7

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[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's lovely illustrations and the point is well taken. The back matter gives a more hopeful outlook about creating spaces in our own backyards. I really wish that had been in the story. It seems to have a very abrupt ending. It just says now there are houses twenty deep. If it had something like seeing the wildlife that can still be found it would end on a more upbeat tone.

[Libby Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Denise Fleming’s illustrations and the role of nature that pops up over and over again in her writing.

This was a sobering look at how humans infringe on nature but gives loving suggestions in the follow up pages to encourage children to embrace nature in their own backyards.

Recommended for 3-6 year olds

[Ogechukwu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very colorful book. It describes the different animals that live together in a forest or a meadow. In the back of the book, it gives you 4 steps to create your own Backyard Habitat. Good for kindergarten and first graders.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one I would read for storytime, but a somber look at how wild spaces are disappearing due to development. The rhyme at the end is very abrupt and jarring. I also love all the wildlife illustrations.

[Miss Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did a Recycling/Earth day Story time and used the Kit for Kid's Environment resource and this book was in the kit. Really enjoyed this book and the illustrations and the resources in the back of the book.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intensely deep beautiful colors of the woodland and the creatures who lived there before the housing development comes along I have not seen colors so deep in Fleming’s other titles that I have read of hers.
Also there are four pages of additional material related to building backyard habitats.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

where there once was a wood stood houses 20 deep... interesting illustrations
great message
perfect discussion starter.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book that tells the story of a wilderness
With a warning.

[Diana Salazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent visuals as usual plus the author includes information on how to respect nature and plants

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

AR 2.5

[Steve Ongley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistic Fiction - Poetry

Super Awesome

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Where Once There Was a Wood, Denise Fleming combines colorful illustrations of forest imagery with simple, poetic text to pay tribute to the beauty of nature and wildlife.

The book is simple in that there is not a lot of text to accompany the artwork. The book does not have a plot in the traditional sense. Instead the book can be viewed as one long descriptive sentence. "Where once there was a wood, a meadow, and a creek..." is the prelude to a number of colorful images of native wildlife. The activities of a heron, a horned owl, a woodchuck and a brown snake, among others are described in the past tense, all leading up to the revelation that these creatures' home has been demolished to make way for houses that sit "side by side, twenty houses deep." The book ends with a few informative pages of facts about wildlife preservation, including how to construct a backyard habitat with information on the shelter, water, and food that wild creatures need to survive. A list of further resources for the curious or concerned is also provided.

Fleming makes use of alliteration to add mood and appeal to her text. "Where once the horned owl hunted to feed her hungry brood" places emphasis on "h" sounds, while "where once the brown snake slithered and slipped out of sight" emphasizes sibilant "s" sounds. The use of this device helps to create a mental image of these activities that leaps off of the page. Another nice aspect of this book is that it evokes appropriate feelings of sadness and loss as well as respect for nature and living things without being preachy or explicitly stating that replacing trees with concrete is a bad thing. Fleming is able to make the reader feel this way simply though the beauty of the images she presents through text and art.

The images combine with the text to make a powerful statement about the beauty of the natural world. The artwork for this book is done in paint on cotton rag fiber. The choice of the unrefined cotton as the medium is certainly appropriate for the naturalist feel of the book. The white portions of the pages that have the text printed on them look reminiscent of the natural, recycled stationery that is sometimes used in crafts and scrapbooks. The palette chosen for this book is one of earthy greens and browns. The colors are rich and luxuriant in their depth and seem to glow with a natural vibrancy. Having viewed the beauty of the creatures and lush forest foliage through Fleming's exquisite artwork, the reader can feel sadness about the forest's destruction more acutely.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where Once There Was a Wood by Denise Fleming is an illustrated poem about our vanishing natural environment as affected by suburban sprawl.

Frequently repeating the phrase "where once" while descrbing the animals that once lived on a tract of land, Fleming enumerates how many animals can be affected by housing developments. Our family experienced a similar happenstance when the family farm was sold to become a housing development, though with larger acreage per house. A four page addendum gives excellent tips and resources for creating a backyard habitat for animals and a related bibliography. A large font is used throughout the story section.

Fleming's illustrations feature her handmade-paper art. Her palette is a bit darker than usual to reflect the more serious tone of this work.
Two of my favoite images are of the kingfisher, and the cedar waxwings eating berries.

This book could be useful for Earth Day, or conservation or environmental units or themes.

For ages 5 to 7, animals, plants, conservation, environment, suburban sprawl, and fans of Denise Fleming."

[Meltha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This goes about how one would expect: the animals get kicked out because humans decide they want to live where the animals used to. The illustrations are very unusual, and I could well be wrong but they seem to be made of torn paper, possibly recycled? The story itself is actually one very long sentence, but it lets the reader see various animals in their homes. The supplementary material at the end of the book is what's the standout here (I'd probably give the story/illustrations three stars otherwise) as it includes very detailed instructions on how to help wildlife feel comfortable in your backyard or school, including food suggestions, how to provide water and shelter, lists of plants that provide places to live for animals, and a quite nice biography of other resources to help get started. That is written at a higher level than the book, but it should be understandable with a parent or teacher's help.

[Katie Williams]

The story does not contain a lot a words, but mostly pictures. It's about how forests, or animal habitats, are compromised to build new neighborhoods/cities. It shows different animals and the places that they live in throughout the book. At the end it has a picture of homes and a city where the forest and animals used to be. Would be a good book to read when discussing animal habitats and ecosystems. I believe it could really only be used as an opener for conversation after reading as the storyline is limited, but it does provide plenty of visuals. Students could draw their own pictureor write their alternate ending of what could happen to the animal(s) after the new town was built including a new home it most likely would migrate to.

[Lindsay Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book each page is a different picture of wildlife living in their habitat. The simple text tells what the animals are doing. On the very last page the book explains that where all of this habitat was, there now is 20 houses side by side (I am assuming some kind of housing development). At the end of the book is a bunch of information on how to turn your backyard into habitat for wild animals and critters.

[Aaron Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a perfect example of deforestation and urbanization. There're many ways that this could be tied into classroom lessons. For example, when discussing food webs, you could point out that when the trees were chopped down, many of the animals probably had to adapt or move away in order to find something to fill the missing spot in their food web. This story with beautifully illustrated and has a nice flow with the wording.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This thoughtful reflection on how building and development by humans effects animal habitats has wonderful and full illustrations from front to back. The back matter, including welcoming wildlife and backyard habitats, has a lot of useful information which adds to the book. This book would introduce students to animals they may be familiar or unfamiliar with such as pheasants and waxwings. It is useful for connecting nature to our own backyard.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations for this book are so rich in texture, depth and color. It is easy to get lost in the illustrations of the wood. But there is one phrase that keeps pulling me out of the wood -- Where once there was. Because I know as I'm reading this book to my son that all the wonderful things that we see depicted in the illustrations are no more.

This is a beautiful, thoughtful book, and a great way to introduce of the topic of development vs. preservation.

[Lauren Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book about the affect of urbanization on the environment and what plants and animals need to survive. This is a great book to read for earth day in any grade. The students can even mimic the art in the book by using paper mache and paint to create healthy environments for plants and/or animals.
Recommended grade level: K-5.

[Amber Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This narrative tells the story of how the world is begging destroyed. It shows the things that were there before humans begun deforestation. I would use this book in my class to teach about deforestation and graphs. I can introduce graphic organizers to my students. They can then create a graphic organizer listing a few facts that happen during deforestation and other facts.

[ElliottDietrich Mattison · Rating 3 out of 5]

So sad at the end! But a good introduction to environmentalism.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good for earth day prog.

[Lesley Looper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the artwork of animal habitats in this book, as well as the last few pages, which explain how to create a backyard habitat for some animals.

[Tina B · Rating 3 out of 5]

"wildlife conservation, environmental"

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very colorful book sharing who lives in the wood and what can happen when house come in a disrupt the woods.

[Melinda Garman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book for K thrught 3rd grade. Use this book to introduce habitats, pollution and human impact on the enviroment. Grade book for Earth Day for young students.

[Amelia Halgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the point the author is trying to make but I'm not sure it was very clear to the kids. And the kids also didn't seem very interested in reading this book more than once.