Fire in the Forest: A Cycle of Growth and Renewal (Hardcover)

by Laurence Pringle (Author), Bob Marstall (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6?Using full-color, double-page spreads of the cycles and stages of life, death, and rebirth of the forest, Pringle presents a positive view of fire as a way for nature to renew itself. The landscape paintings are interposed with whole pages of text. Small paintings of wildlife decorate the textual pages. Pringle's writing is convincing; facts are presented clearly in an informative manner. Unfortunately, the text is at a fairly sophisticated reading level for what is, essentially, a picture-book format. While the illustrations are beautiful, middle grade readers may be reluctant to pick it up. Introduce this one to whole-language teachers, who will be able to put the illustrations to good use in a unit on nature.?Melissa Hudak, North Suburban District Library, Roscoe, IL
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4^-6. Chiding news commentators for painting the 1988 forest fires in Yellowstone National Park as catastrophic, Pringle takes the long view of fire in the Northern Rocky Mountain ecosystem. He discusses the effect of fire on the plants and animals native to the region, showing that the ecosystem is neither destroyed by a fire nor reborn after it, but simply goes through different stages of its natural cycle. Pringle makes his points intelligently, asking readers to look beyond Bambi and Smokey the Bear to see that fire is "as natural as rain." The text, accompanied by small paintings of plants and animals, appears on facing pages that alternate with double-page spread illustrations. Stretching horizontally across the pages, these large, vivid paintings show the same landscape in different stages of growth before, during, and after a fire. The paintings underscore the theme very effectively. A handsome ecology book. Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1st edition (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068980394X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689803949
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,315,601 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book about how fire affects forests., December 9, 1999

By A Customer

We are planning a trip to Yellowstone and this book has gotten me excited to see the different kinds of forests that exist throughout the park. Not only does the book cover how fire affects forests, but how time affects forests -- by looking at the types of growth in a forest you can tell how old it is (i.e. how long it's been since the last major fire). Fascinating. The only slight critique I have is that I wish the book were longer -- it's a good length for upper elementary and middle school children, but high schoolers and adults will want more.