Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Gorgeously intricate illustrations perfectly complement equally evocative text in this introduction to the great northern, or boreal, forest, which sprawls across the entire northern hemisphere. Thinking green is a hot topic, and engaging resources about ecology are in demand. Any child interested in animals or the outdoors will be fascinated by the array portrayed here in a series of vignettes, each of which intersperses factual information with lively action scenes: Chawchaw! The beavers bite into wood. Crackle! Thwack! Trees tumble. The wintry palette of gold, white, brown, green, and spots of red draws readers into the forest environment, and the exquisite detail invites a closer look. Showing, rather than telling, how an ecosystem works is especially effective when the numbers of snowshoe hares grows so great their food supply of low-growing plants dwindles, moose nibble from high branches, and bits fall down that can feed a limited number of hares. Guiberson and Spirin manage to successfully convey the beauty and majesty of this forest and its denizens in two dimensions, and a list of organizations devoted to preserving the forest provides further information. An author's note adds urgency to the message about the importance of preservation.--Foote, Diane Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-A vast, yet endangered, ecosystem flourishes in this slim, elegant pictorial book. Spirin's dramatic, realistic illustrations spill over the pages, compressing Guiberson's lyrical text into bamboo-toned columns on the side. Exploding with the sounds of the boreal forest (in spring, a Tennessee warbler sings "tika tika swee swee!" while a moose "squish squosh"-es in a beaver pond), the text describes the interaction of entwined lives in this special ecosystem. (One small note-the air hole depicted in the snow-covered beaver lodge seems a tad large-a predator could gain easy entry.) Taking readers through the seasons, Guiberson and Spirin present a verbal and pictorial treasury for nature lovers and young researchers alike.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
