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6th out of 63 books
—
10 voters
Life in the Boreal Forest
The great northern forest—the boreal forest—is home to a unique ecosystem of animals and plants. It covers one-third of the earth’s total forest area and is home to so many birds that it is known as “North America’s bird nursery.”
The forest is a treasure trove of riches, but it’s threatened by increased human development and climate changes. This gorgeous book teaches read...more
The forest is a treasure trove of riches, but it’s threatened by increased human development and climate changes. This gorgeous book teaches read...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
September 29th 2009
by Henry Holt and Co.
(first published January 1st 2009)
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Community Reviews
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1-30
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94)
Sep 01, 2009
Abigail
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Young Forest Lovers / Children Researching the Boreal Forest
Shelves:
childrens-non-fiction,
picture-books
Review Temporarily Removed.
This book so clearly captures the beauty and life in the boreal forest that one can almost hear the birds and smell the freshness of the air. The great northern forest stretches from Alaska and Canada to Scandinavia and Russia Showing the brevity of the northern summer, the activity of the stark winter months, and the glory of the spring and the return of warmth will bring readers face-to-face with nature and its drama. Spirin’s illustrations show delicate detail, dazzling vistas, and many many...more
I find a lot of college students here study and prepare lessons about the Rain forest, but I have yet to discover one who has done a project on the endangered Boreal (northern) forest, or taiga, which stretches across Russia, Scandinavia, and Canada. Brief descriptions of most of the inhabitants of the forest often include the sounds they make. There is discussion of the stresses on the food cycle and on the habitat. But what make the book outstanding are the exquisitely detailed watercolor (and...more
I had never heard the phrase, “boreal forest.” After reading this book, I’ve learned it refers to the large expanses of forest that spread widely across the northern part of the world.
The pictures beautifully depict those who live in the forest. The text pops and crackles with onomatopoeia. The words and pictures combine to present a clear picture of this enormous forested land.
A bit:
“Grrowll! The bear needs a five-inch layer of body fat to survive a long winter sleep. In one frenzied day he gob...more
The pictures beautifully depict those who live in the forest. The text pops and crackles with onomatopoeia. The words and pictures combine to present a clear picture of this enormous forested land.
A bit:
“Grrowll! The bear needs a five-inch layer of body fat to survive a long winter sleep. In one frenzied day he gob...more
Great illustrations and text. This book really fascinated my 9 yo daughter. (My 4 and 7 yo girls only listened to about half and then began to play...) She had many questions about the animals, the forest, how we can help protect the forest, why people cut down trees, etc. This shows the food chain without being too gruesome, explores some of the animals that reside in the forest...including how they survive and what some of their challenges are, discusses some of the important plants in the for...more
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful pictures in this book! My niece seemed to be exhaling breathless "wows" on every other page, and several times she and I both reached out to touch the pictures, expecting to feel the texture of an animal's pelt, or the rough bark of a tree. The pictures were that good, that realistic, that beautiful.
I enjoyed the story, too, and I thought that the author's use of onomatopoeia to convey the sounds of the forest also gave the text an almost living quality. Sadly, my...more
I enjoyed the story, too, and I thought that the author's use of onomatopoeia to convey the sounds of the forest also gave the text an almost living quality. Sadly, my...more
Oct 11, 2012
June
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
environmental & habitat readers
Recommended to June by:
Children's Books (Goodreads group)
It is nice to have a book dealing with the Boreal (northern) forests. The library seems to have so much on the rain forests (2 vs. 98 books), its a nice change to see something about northern forests.
Guiberson covers a year in the Boreal forest following a couple animals. She deals with predator prey relationship, the importance of the forest for migrating birds, importance of the forest in absorbing carbon dioxide, importance of the Sphagnum moss in preventing flooding and urges the reader to...more
Guiberson covers a year in the Boreal forest following a couple animals. She deals with predator prey relationship, the importance of the forest for migrating birds, importance of the forest in absorbing carbon dioxide, importance of the Sphagnum moss in preventing flooding and urges the reader to...more
I liked this more than I thought I would. I appreciated that the text was concise but still wonderfully informative. I've always, even when a child, been one who asks the *next* question, and this answered a lot of them. For example, how many times have we heard 'Eskimos have X many words for snow?' Well, this book defines several Inuit words that mean different kinds of snow. And the 10 year cycle of the hare's population boom, and the 200 + species of birds, and the crossbill's throat pouch......more
This is an interesting look into the interwoven lives of the creatures who make their home in the vast Boreal Forest. Guiberson does a nice job of introducing the reader to information about the forest itself, its importance to the world, and special characteristics of the animals themselves.
I really liked the illustrations and think that they add to the story. I was a little bummed, however, that not every animal mentioned is illustrated, and sometimes it was hard to discern which animal was wh...more
I really liked the illustrations and think that they add to the story. I was a little bummed, however, that not every animal mentioned is illustrated, and sometimes it was hard to discern which animal was wh...more
This beautiful book was full of interesting facts about the animals that live in the boreal forest. Gennady Spirin's detailed illustrations were the perfect accompaniment to the text, except for a couple of things. First, on the fifth page of text (the page with the 2-page spread of the bear), the lynx is mentioned ("The cat huddles quietly"), but I was going nuts trying to find that lynx in the accompanying illustration. I concluded there wasn't one, and, in fact, though the lynx was also menti...more
Large, exquisite paintings by Spirin make this book an absolute treat to page through. Guiberson offers plenty of digestible information about the vast boreal forest and its complex ecosystem, but in her attempt, perhaps, to make the book more appealing to younger readers, she inserts really irritating sound effect words prior to each block of text. This kind of ruins the book for me. Otherwise, strong nonfiction. 4th grade and up.
Without even reading the narrative, the stunning illustrations made this book a winner for me. Paired with an onomatopoeic text describing the animals pictured in the illustrations throughout a year's time, the book presents a striking case for the survival of the boreal forest. Just as important ecologically as the tropical rainforest, the boreal forest deserves this stellar educational vehicle.
Sep 19, 2012
Dolly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
Shelves:
2012,
canada,
childrens,
nonfiction,
other-usa,
russia,
norway,
sweden,
finland,
science,
environment-recycling,
picture-book-club
Gorgeous illustrations highlight this nonfiction book about the taiga in the northern climes. The narrative is informative, but not boring. There's lots of onomatopoeia and the animals are very detailed and realistic. The author's note at the end is a cautionary environmental message about the human impact on this region. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
This story was selected as one of the books for the September 2012 - Ecosystems reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's B...more
This story was selected as one of the books for the September 2012 - Ecosystems reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's B...more
Gennady Spirin's painting are amazing -- tbe bear looks soft enough to touch. Wonderful depictions of the animal life of the forest: moose, lynxes, beaver, snowshoe hare, wolves, cranes & other birds. Guiberson's text notes the importance of the boreal forest (taiga) and the dangers that threaten it and the animals that live there.
Feb 05, 2010
Jason Penckofer
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
nonfiction,
consider10-11,
habitats,
biomes,
forests,
borealforests,
taiga,
birds,
birdmigration,
winter,
beavers,
moose,
snowshoehares,
foxes,
lynx,
bears,
wolves,
voles,
ermine,
caribou,
authorsnote
Overview of the importance of boreal forests and the impacts that changes there have on the resident and migratory animal populations. The illustrations are beautiful, but it
Discusses the chain of life in the boreal forest going through a year in how animals adapt and survive. N the back there are notes about the impact of the boreal forest on our environment. Ties in with environmental studies, habitats, ecosystems, and global warming.
Although I enjoyed the rich illustrations in this book I thought the text was not well-organized. It seems like an important and not-much-written-about topic. I wish the text had not seemed so random.
Mar 08, 2010
Lisa Vegan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
nature lovers, tree lovers, forest lovers, animal lovers; nature education
Recommended to Lisa by:
Abigail
Spectacular, gorgeous, amazing, glorious illustrations. My only quibble is using the scariest looking one, a lynx hunting an ermine, as the cover illustration. I’d have gone with just about any of the other illustrations in the book for the cover.
This is a wonderful ecology book for children, with interesting information, fascinating details, and a plea for conservation, including a list of organizations in the front and an author’s note with map in the back of the book. The “sound effects” were...more
This is a wonderful ecology book for children, with interesting information, fascinating details, and a plea for conservation, including a list of organizations in the front and an author’s note with map in the back of the book. The “sound effects” were...more
Loved it! The text is simple without being babyish. The art work is spectacular!. Kids will learn a lot about the boreal forest and why it's important from this book.
A book about what it would be like to live in the boreal forest. It mixes in content, but is fictitious. Grades 2-4.
Readers tour the boreal forest, learning about the flora, fauna, weather and topography. The sounds of the forest are sprinkled throughout; great for onomonopia lessons. Large illustrations cover the pages providing a glimpse into this beautiful landscape. Includes list of websites to learn more about the boreal forest and the creatures who inhabit it. Authors note goes into more detail about the importance of the boreal forest and the impact of development on this biome.
This book did a good job of highlighting the flora and fauna of this little-known, rapidly disappearing habitat. Length was nice--not too long, not too short.
The illustrations are fantastic!
amazing illustrations
Loved the detailed illustrations with the animals sometimes almost hidden. Effectively communicated the message that deforestation is wreaking havoc on animal populations. Slightly boring for Logan, who I believe suspected he was being "taught" something, but the illustrations kept him going.
May 10, 2013
Miguel
marked it as to-read
May 06, 2013
Teresa Greber
marked it as to-read
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updated Feb 21, 2010 01:46pm
Feb 21, 2010 02:47pm
Mar 08, 2010 09:39pm