In the Company of Redwoods: An InterActive Guide to Learning 50 Redwood Community Plants through Hand Tinting - Softcover

Casterson, David Bruce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1495106608 ISBN 13: 9781495106606

Publisher: Natural Sight Press, 2017

Synopsis

In the Company of Redwoods is a book that kids, students, parents, teachers, artists, botanists and grandparents alike will love, for it makes it easy to learn the names, facts and faces of the understory plants most commonly associated with the Coast Redwood. It is designed to be carried on walks in each of the more than 60 Redwood State Parks and Preserves in coastal California from Big Sur to the Oregon border. In the Company of Redwoods was written by a high school biology teacher with extensive field trip experience in the Redwood forest. It is designed to be an interactive guide to learning about the lives of the understory plants that have evolved to live in close association with Coastal Redwood trees. The plants are arranged by bloom dates so that when the reader encounters one of them blooming, thumbing forward or back a few pages in the book will yield other plants to learn. Each of these Redwood community plants is covered in a two page fashion, the left-hand pages are text pages, providing interesting facts and stories covering the botany and environmental aspects of Redwood community plants. Included for each plant are color photographs that aid in identification. The photographs are labeled with educational questions and observations. Vocabulary words are underlined and definitions can be found in the book's glossary. Also included at the end of the book are sections on native plant protection, tree planting, Native American, pioneer and current uses of these plants, plant family characteristics, an index of common and scientific names, a sample food web, and bibliographic information. The right-hand pages feature the author's large fine art gray-scale images that may be colored with colored pencils or watercolor paints. The simple, pleasurable act of applying color adds much to the learning process, making it possible to learn the plants for a life time and not just for a moment. As the reader/artist adds natural colors, the images come to life with the grace that plants in nature often possess. Unlike in most coloring books where one colors on blank spaces between solid lines, here the reader/artist colors on the lines and shading of the leaves, flowers and stems. Capturing the life and vibrancy in this way connects people with nature.

About this title

About the Author

David Casterson graduated cum laude in Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz. His thesis was entitled "The Effects of Clear Cutting on the Redwood Ecosystem." He taught high school Biology and Nature Photography and is now retired, having spent 34 years in the classroom. His publisher works include "In the Company of Redwoods: An InterActive Guide to Learning 50 Redwood Community Plants through Hand Tinting (2014) and "Take Me to the Tide Pools: An Interactive Guide to Learning about Tide Pool Animals" (2016). He lives on a small organic farm in the Santa Cruz mountains of central California and delights in camping, hiking kayaking and cycling. He is currently writing his third book, a story of a young boy learning about 25 of the birds common to all of the 48 continental United States.

Review

"This field book is a fun companion for exploring the redwood forest. You'll see things you've never seen before! Casterson helps us get to know our native Redwood habitat through the richness and beauty of its understory plants. This unique field book engages art and science, form and function as ways of learning natural history."

Dr. Deborah K. Letourneau

Professor of Environmental Studies

University of California Santa Cruz

"In the Company of Redwoods is both an important reference guide and wonderful gem that helps us slow down and connect to the natural world. Casterson leads us on a creative journey into the ethereal world of Redwood plants, encouraging us to pick up our colored pencils and bring his splendid images to life."

Claudia Stevens, MA

Monterey Bay Area Artist

Traditional Botanical Works

Edition details

• Publisher: Natural Sight Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1495106608
• ISBN 13: 9781495106606
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 130