Book Descriptions
for Log Life by Amy Hevron
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
What happens when a giant fir tree is felled by a storm? It becomes a nurse log, a home to countless creatures on the forest floor. Five chapters chart the long life of the log: spring, year 1; summer, year 10; autumn, year 100; winter, year 500, and spring, year 1000. Almost immediately, new life and activities spring up on and around the fallen tree. Fungi arrive, followed by lichen, liverwort, hornwort, and chicken mushrooms. Animate creatures, including beetles, ants, snails, and birds, are next. The nurse log’s surface becomes blanketed in ferns and molds. It offers shelter, shade, and warmth to myriad mammalian and amphibious beings. Eventually, a new fir tree sprouts. It is a tree that, hundreds of years in the future, takes the place of the decomposed nurse log … until “a great gust” comes along to start the cycle over again. Readers are likely to delight in the cheerful, adorable illustrations (even the fungi have cute little smiles). While the incredible span of time may be difficult for young children to grasp, the scientific information is delivered via a conversational, accessible text.
CCBC Choices 2025. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin – Madison, 2025. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids 2024
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Discover the tiny, fascinating world of nurse logs in this first book in an illuminating picture book series that explores how even the smallest habitats play big roles in nature.
Once there stood a giant fir tree that stretched to the sun. One stormy day, a great gust came. The tree creaked, and cracked, and collapsed! And the tree’s new life as a nurse log began...
When old trees fall to the forest floor, they can take centuries to decompose, becoming home to all sorts of organisms along the way. These nurse logs are unique ecosystems that support hundreds of rare and important plants, creatures, and fungi. They provide nutrients for tree seedlings, hideaways for animals, shelters in the winter, and protection from the elements. With snappy text and lush illustrations, this book invites curious readers to step into a tiny ecosystem that’s truly like no other.
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Discover the tiny, fascinating world of nurse logs in this first book in an illuminating picture book series that explores how even the smallest habitats play big roles in nature.
Once there stood a giant fir tree that stretched to the sun. One stormy day, a great gust came. The tree creaked, and cracked, and collapsed! And the tree’s new life as a nurse log began...
When old trees fall to the forest floor, they can take centuries to decompose, becoming home to all sorts of organisms along the way. These nurse logs are unique ecosystems that support hundreds of rare and important plants, creatures, and fungi. They provide nutrients for tree seedlings, hideaways for animals, shelters in the winter, and protection from the elements. With snappy text and lush illustrations, this book invites curious readers to step into a tiny ecosystem that’s truly like no other.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.
