NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD WINNER 2022! INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNER 2022!
“[E]ye-popping, captivating and brimming with educational facts . . . a brilliant, and beautifully-illustrated factual reading that should appeal and resonate to a wide range of ages…” Youth Librarian, Truckee Library
"...this informational book gives another perspective to the effects of the gold rush on California's environment [and] is filled with interesting facts, beautiful illustrations, and many additional resources. Every teacher needs a copy of Who Needs a Forest Fire in their class library!" Mrs. Yonemura, 4th grade teacher, Los Angeles
Who needs a forest fire? We do! But not the kind we have now.
The first people who lived in California did not fight fire. They used it as a tool and tended the forest floor like a garden for thousands of years.
The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought settlers and miners who killed Native Americans and destroyed forest ecosystems. Stopping all fires and allowing the forest floor to become overcrowded and overgrown led to conditions that were perfect for major wildfires: megafires!
This book will help you:
Learn why plants and animals need fire
Understand how the Native American people of California used fire as a tool to keep the forest ecology strong
Discover what we can do to help forests and California's native plants and animals avoid megafires.
Reviews:Paula is an environmental writer and educator currently serving as Director of Environmental Programs at an Elementary School. She has been a garden designer, water conservation advisor, university lecturer and pre-school through elementary school teacher. She strives to find humor and excitement in science, history and nature. She is focused on writing non-fiction for children and digging in to her fascinating family roots in California. www.terrabellabooks.com
Sue Todd is a professional illustrator of books, magazines, posters and other print material for children and adults. She creates linocut prints with digital color in her yellow studio and gets her best ideas while cycling the nature paths of Toronto. Her art has been commissioned by clients in North America and the UK. In addition to her commissioned illustration, she is working on writing and illustrating her own stories for children and playing around with digital portraiture on the iPad. www.suetodd.com
Emily Underwood is an artist and educator based in Central California. Blending her background in both science and art, she explores the natural world and its landscape histories through the mediums of painting, printmaking, and bookmaking. She also creates illustrations and interpretive artwork for researching scientists, museums, parks, and other agencies. www.underwoodillustration.com
