Log Life

January 1, 2024
A picture of the long and beneficial role played by a "nurse log" in the forest's cycle of growth and renewal. A tall fir tree begins a "new life" when it falls in a storm--first as a site for a "big, mushroomy party," then as a host for carpenter ants that draw hungry birds, and then through years and even centuries to nurture new seedling trees while serving as "a soggy shelter to all kinds of critters." Hevron's airy tone ("Snails vacayed in the decay") is mirrored in forest scenes featuring mushrooms with smiley faces and cute though otherwise accurately detailed creatures of many sorts snoozing or scampering about while exchanging comments: "I'll lay some larvae here." "Me too!" "Me three!" By the time the log has disappeared (1,000 years later, a running label suggests), a towering successor stands in its place...to fall itself one day and bring the natural process full circle. Though the flora and fauna depicted here are specific to the temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest, as the author notes in the backmatter, she closes with a list of old-growth forest sites in other parts of the U.S. where readers can explore nurse log habitats. Natural history, served with a smile. (source and reading lists) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

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February 12, 2024
Hevron celebrates the vibrant and centuries-spanning life
of a nurse log in this spirited tribute. After the dramatic collapse of a fir tree, text utilizes a storybook-like tone as flora and fauna alike begin to call the newly fallen log home. Year one sees a “big, mushroomy party! Hooray!” in spring. “Snails vacayed in the decay” one summer a decade later; the log hosts critters big and little at the autumnal 100-year mark; and at year 500, the woody subject welcomes wintertime mammals
as they “cuddled inside.” Very slowly, the log is replaced by a new fir poised to repeat the cycle. Accompanying artwork highlights woodgrain textures as it collages acrylic, marker, and pencil elements, including a bevy of companionable and chatty creatures making remarks via speech balloons. The effect is at once an endearing and enlightening portrait of a log’s becoming essential for a healthy forest ecosystem. A closing note sets the story in a Pacific Northwest old-growth, temperate rainforest. Ages up to 8.