Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Nurse logs receive much-deserved appreciation in this poetic profile by Pendreigh and Boschinger, which highlights the majestic afterlife of fallen trees. Staccato text describes the starring subject's early existence: "A lookout,/ an aerie,/ a roost,/ a roof." After the woody figure tumbles, it takes on a new, critical role as woodland helpmate. Both rhythmic and informative, spare lines communicate the nurse log's vital role providing nourishment, shelter, and comfort for the forest's many critters: "Nurse Log mothers them all./ She is a lap,/ a bed,/ a cradle." Textural, verdant artwork includes an absorbing level of detail in depictions of rough-surfaced bark, fuzzy black bears, and soft layers of lichen and moss. Human figures are portrayed with various skin tones. Back matter discusses the importance of nurse logs to a healthy forest ecosystem. Ages 6--9. (Mar.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A tree can provide a place for many forest residents to grow, to rest, and to shelter--even after it falls. The comparatively small figures of a multiracial family, glimpsed hiking or sitting on a log for a snack, are clearly entranced by the lovely, lush Pacific Northwest forest setting--readers will be enchanted, too. Pendreigh's spare accompanying narrative is as grand and stately as the trees themselves. Over a span of years, a towering Douglas fir "suns and sways" until it "grows old. / Sap slows. / Roots let go. / Green goes brown. / The tree falls / down" with a crash and begins a "new life" as "Nurse Log." The author anthropomorphizes her subject: "She is a place to grow," and she "mothers" new waves of flora and fauna, from lichen and jelly fungus to towhees and bear cubs. As a reservoir of moisture in drier seasons, the log also nurtures a western hemlock "tree child" that grows from seedling to sapling, "hugs his nurse mother" with roots, and, as the old log crumbles into the soil, rears up over time to become a home and shelter in turn for many species. Pendreigh's afterword underscores the significant role trees play, even after they're dead, in many habitats. It's a profound lesson for young readers to absorb, even as they pore over the expanses of precisely detailed ferns, fungi, and furry forest wildlife in the pictures. Poetic, revealing, and visually delightful.(Informational picture book. 6-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
