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Southcrop Forest

by Lorne Rothman (Goodreads Author)

4.40 · rating details · 10 ratings · 8 reviews

The trees of Southcrop have made a striking discovery-one that could change the world for all their kind. But they are trapped in a forest fragment and face destruction from human sprawl. They cannot spread their new-found gift across the land.

Then Auja, a young oak, finds little Fur amongst her branches. Fur is a legendary creature not seen for a thousand years, a single

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Paperback, 170 pages

Published June 19th 2008 by iUniverse

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Eco-Fiction

5th out of 46 books — 48 voters

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

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Mar 08, 2010

Sam rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

Southcrop Forest takes the reader into the natural world like few other books have before. It is told through the 'eyes' of the Southcrop Trees and the colony of crawlers who calls itself Fur. Southcrop Forest is under threat from deforestation by the rollers (man) and have to protect both themselves and their gift of Southcrop Vision before it is too late. To do so they need to pass on their gift to the surrounding forests from which they have been isolated by the man trails and false rock (...moreSouthcrop Forest takes the reader into the natural world like few other books have before. It is told through the 'eyes' of the Southcrop Trees and the colony of crawlers who calls itself Fur. Southcrop Forest is under threat from deforestation by the rollers (man) and have to protect both themselves and their gift of Southcrop Vision before it is too late. To do so they need to pass on their gift to the surrounding forests from which they have been isolated by the man trails and false rock (roads and tarmac). Enter Fur, a special colony of crawlers that is able to communicate with the trees and who agrees to take the journey across the forest, trails and rivers to deliver their gift to the rest of the tree world.

Rothman has captured the essence of forest life beautifully through his characters and their stories and visions, with each coming across as real as the trees themselves. The characters each suit their respective species perfectly and Rothman has obviously spent a lot of time studing not only the ecology of woodlands but also the characteristics of individual species themselves and given them personalities to suit.

Fur's journey through the forest also takes the reader on a journey of their own through the forest of Southcrop and beyond and illustrates the diversity and variety of life and death that can be found in any woodland on earth, if you just look for it. In doing so it illustrates what is being lost at the hands of man without any thought or consideration to what woodlands and other habitats do to keep the planet suitable for all life, including our own. Despite this the book is not preachy and it doesn't force the message through, it is simply told through the varied eyes of the forest and it is up to the reader whether they take note or not.

This book reminded me of The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann and as this was my favourite childhood book (and still is), this is meant as a huge compliment. Rothman has told the story of mankind's relationship with nature in a similar way through the eyes of the natural world itself. A thoroughly enjoyable read and one that I am certain to read again(less)

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Jul 12, 2010

Sassy Brit added it

Shelves: childrens, ecology, 2010-books, xxx-reviewed-by-sassybrit, science, indie, eco-fiction, fantasy, popular-science

Auja, a young oak, discovers that humans are trashing their world and without help from someone, the forest of Southcrop will wither and die. In her leaves, she comes across a crawler (caterpillar) not seen for thousands of years. He calls himself Fur. For Auja, and the future of her forest, Fur is the answer to their dreams. But it's a long, tough and dangerous world out there for such a meek, little thing that is both a single intelligent being, and a whole colony of caterpillars at once. With...moreAuja, a young oak, discovers that humans are trashing their world and without help from someone, the forest of Southcrop will wither and die. In her leaves, she comes across a crawler (caterpillar) not seen for thousands of years. He calls himself Fur. For Auja, and the future of her forest, Fur is the answer to their dreams. But it's a long, tough and dangerous world out there for such a meek, little thing that is both a single intelligent being, and a whole colony of caterpillars at once. With the help of the trees' Southcrop Vision, they are able to communicate with each other, and help Fur on a quest he must undertake to save the forest. He must reach Riverside Farm before it is destroyed to pass on the knowledge of the trees, and a special gift, of which even little Fur does not fully understand at the time. Nor does he realise how special he is.

Southcrop Forest is one of those books that I kept stopping to say to my husband, "Did you know...?", which I know is very annoying when you are not the person reading the book, but I just can't help myself sometimes, and I needed to share this as I read! It's cleverly written, in that is is a story about a Tent caterpillar on a mission, talking trees that can communicate with Southcrop Vision, and other insects, birds and animals - each with their own distinct personalities. I could easily picture this as one of those cute animated Disney films, where they try to keep the cartoon characters true to their natural characters, but with the additional "human" ability to talk and act cute at the same time. Not always as easy to do in a book and can sometimes come out very forced, but not in Southcrop Forest. Yet, with all its cuteness, it is also sad, and acts as a huge slap in the face - a reality wake-up call - where the message is clear - we are destroying our beautiful and wonderful Earth. As you know, we need trees, they reduce carbon dioxide and give us oxygen, and like all the tiniest, seemingly insignificant creatures that surround us, they all have a purpose and play a big part in our survival. What are we doing for them?

This book is a must for anyone interested in nature, ecology and the environment and, of course a fun read about the interdependence of various life systems in our world. It's not all cuteness and smiles, nature has a terrible way of being cruel to be kind when it comes down to survival of the fittest. Does Fur complete his quest, and fulfil his dream of flying high up in the sky near the warm sun? I'm not telling. You'll have to read it to find out. (less)

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Jan 19, 2010

Paul rated it

This novel is about the trees of Southcrop Forest, a forest in crisis. Reduced to little more than a forest fragment, they are hemmed in on all sides by human sprawl. There is a great feeling of despair, for the trees know that the end is inevitable.

Auja, a young oak tree, finds a unique being within its branches. Fur is not your average caterpillar. It is a kind of group-mind being consisting of over 240 separate entities, not seen in Southcrop Forest for the past thousand years. Au...more

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Oct 14, 2009

Angela Simmons rated it

In “Southcrop Forest”, we enter into a magical mythical place in which the trees can feel, see, sense, and talk. In this amazing place we meet the lovable, adorable young oak tree by the name of Auja. Like her other friends of the forest, she is worried that the Hewmen will destroy their home in Southcrop. Then one spring day as she was taking the yearly census of the many animals that call her branches home she happened upon a remarkable sight. Auja discovered that the colony of caterpillars w...more

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Apr 05, 2010

Betty rated it

Shelves: wildlife, adventure, canadian, debut, fantasy, global-warming, history, eco-fantasy, fable, ecology, forests, environment, habitat

Southcrop Forest by Lorne Rothman

A delightful tale with a strong message. Cycles of life in the forest told in a friendly way. How every species on earth depends on another and what that means. Lorne Rothman has produced an ecological and timely tale for all ages.

The characters draw the reader in immediately. Little Fur, a colony of tent caterpillars hatched in an oak tree in Southcrop Forest, becomes the lifesaving hero of the plot, under the guidance of Auja, the o...more

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Nov 09, 2009

Tami rated it

It calls itself Fur but we humans would all define this entity as a colony of tent caterpillars. Unique in its own right, Fur can communicate with trees. The trees have been waiting for such an animal which they call Rune. Now, it is their only hope.

Southcrop Forest is in imminent danger. Natural patterns that withstood the tests of time have changed. Man destroys whole forests seemingly without effort. Now, Fur must make his way on a perilous journey to bring the secret of Southcro...more

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Mar 14, 2010

Andrew rated it

I've always been interested in stories with non-human characters. I have an idea to write a story one day about a city - not the people in it, but the city itself, as a living character with its own actions and motivations. Trouble is, I'm not really sure where to start.

So I was intrigued by this book, in which the main characters are trees. Trees can't move around or do very much, so how could a whole novel be written about them? Well, Lorne Rothman manages it, and it works very wel...moreI've always been interested in stories with non-human characters. I have an idea to write a story one day about a city - not the people in it, but the city itself, as a living character with its own actions and motivations. Trouble is, I'm not really sure where to start.

So I was intrigued by this book, in which the main characters are trees. Trees can't move around or do very much, so how could a whole novel be written about them? Well, Lorne Rothman manages it, and it works very well.

The premise is that Southcrop Forest is on the verge of destruction, as humans clear the land for urban sprawl. The trees can't do anything about it, not being able to move and all, but they do want to preserve the things they've learned over the last few millennia, most importantly "Southcrop Vision", the ability to see and share experiences throughout the forest. To do this, they need to contact the larger forest to the north, and the only way to do it is via a colony of tent caterpillars that calls itself Fur.

Fur travels on a quest through the forest, faces a series of challenges, as all good questers do, and in the process he learns about the ecology of the forest. The learning part is clearly important to the author (who has a PhD in zoology and has studied ecology at various Canadian universities), and the book has 84 footnotes giving the scientific basis for various elements of the story. I found this a bit odd in a work of fiction, but there was some interesting stuff in the footnotes, and you can always ignore them if you just want to read the story.

Because of the educational aspect and the fairly simple writing and plot, I think this would be an excellent book for younger readers. As a not-so-young reader, though, I found it charming and very enjoyable - and most importantly, it was very different from anything I've read before. A heavily footnoted eco-fantasy novel where the main characters are trees and the hero is a colony of tent caterpillars is not the sort of thing you come across every day, and I found it very refreshing.(less)

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Nov 11, 2010

Booktenzio rated it

Love the idea behind it; it should be amazing, but really, it was a little boring.

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About Lorne Rothman

Lorne Rothman was born in 1964 in Montreal, Canada. He spent most of his childhood in Toronto, back in the day when you could live in a big city, and explore fields and farmlands just beyond your front door.

It was there that his life-long interest in nature took hold, and years later carried him through the savannah and rain forests of East Africa and Madagascar, and the striking land...more

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