Product Description

One stormy day a strong wind rages through the forest, causing an old oak tree to bend and sway. Lightning strikes; the tree crashes to the ground. Now it's a giant log.

In this fascinating book, author Wendy Pfeffer and illustrator Robin Brickman introduce readers to they life cycle of a tree. The informative, lyrical text is complemented by stunning, three-dimensional paper sculptures that showcase the forest ecosystem, inspiring readers to take a close look at the trees -- and logs -- in their own backyards.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107576 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3. An attractive introduction to the life, death, and decay of an oak tree. The simple, informative text presents the complex cast of characters residing in or on the living tree as well as the decomposing log?from woodpeckers, squirrels, and porcupines to carpenter ants, millipedes, slugs, and fungi. The verbal descriptions of this rich ecosystem are enhanced by striking illustrations of three-dimensional paper sculptures, often so realistic as to seem to be preserved natural specimens. Although this ground has been covered in Alvin Tresselt's The Gift of the Tree (Lothrop, 1992), a reincarnation of The Dead Tree (Atheneum, 1972; o.p.); and James Newton's Forest Log (Crowell, 1980; o.p.), Pfeffer's gentle, lucid text and Brickman's superb illustrations certainly merit inclusion in most collections.?Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ingram
After an oak tree falls in the forest, it has another life as home to a variety of creatures. As it decays over time, it provides food and shelter to porcupines, ants, mushrooms, salamanders, and many others, until it eventually turns into a mound of rich black earth. Very young children love spotting the animals as they learn about the life cycle of a tree. Full color.

About the Author
Wendy Pfeffer is the author of several children's books, including Polar Bears and From Tadpole to Frog, as well as numerous articles and stories for magazines. Her full-time writing career includes teaching writing to adults and children. She previously taught first grade, and was the founding director for a nursery school. She lives in Pennington, New Jersey, with her husband, Tom.

Robin Brickman has illustrated many children's books, including One Night in the Coral Sea and Beaks!, by Sneed B. Collard III. To create three-dimensional illustrations for A Log's Life she painted watercolor paper, then cut, hand shaped, and glued the various pieces together. Ms. Brickman lives in western Massachusetts. Visit her website at www.robinbrickman.com to learn about the Community Mural Project based on this book.

Customer Reviews

Read this book and then take a walk in a forest!
"A Log's Life" is a little masterpiece of children's literature that can become a child's favorite book. The amazing paper-sculpture photo illustrations of Robin Brickman and the sparse but powerful alliterative language of author Wendy Pfeffer unite to tell a important ecological story about the life OF a log and the life IN a log. No wonder this book won the 2000 Giverny Award for best children's science picture book! What's fun for children is searching for and finding the organisms in Brickman's artwork on succeeding pages, once each has been initially introduced in the text. And later, when they hike in the woods with their parents, they can actually SEE this story come alive in nature itself.