Habitats
The Tree in the Ancient Forest; At the Marsh in the Meadow; Cactus Hotel
Last week we were in Maine, staying very close to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, in an area where there is a large tidal marsh (they call it a “pool”) separated from the ocean by a very thin strip of land, where there are beachside cottages with grassy yards and small stands of pines, as well as a rare-in-Maine sandy beach with expansive low-tide flats just teaming with bivalves and shellfish. We made heavy use of my plant, bug, and bird song identification apps (Seek, by iNaturalist, and Merlin by The Cornell Lab) and found waxwings, starlings, and wrens, rugosa roses, dawn redwood, and kousa dogwoods, plus mussels, whelks, and moon snails in addition to endless clams. So I’ve been thinking a little more explicitly about ecosystems and their variety across different regions. Here are three books to help expand yours and your kiddos’ appreciation for the web of life and habitat variation. If you want to test your knowledge of your local habitat, take Kevin Kelly’s fantastic “Big Here” quiz, published in 2005.
“The Tree in the Ancient Forest” is a beautiful illustration of the array of life supported by a giant redwood tree, underground and above, animal and other. “At the Marsh in the Meadow” does the same for a wetlands habitat. Circle-of-life picture books can be a little tedious to read — with each spread gradually expanding a single sentence — and also challenging on your lungs, but they do a good job of illustrating the interconnection of an ecosystem.
The Tree in the Ancient Forest.1995, Carol Reed-Jones, Christopher Canyon. Target age: PreK-Gr3 [read aloud, libraries, book stores]
At the Marsh in the Meadow. 2016, Jeanie Mebane, Gerald Guerlais. Target age: PreK-Gr3 [read aloud, libraries, book stores]
“Cactus Hotel” is a straight narrative about the lifecycle of a saguaro cactus, from seed to decomposition. With vibrant watercolor illustrations of the desert in rain, bloom, and dry periods, it is easily one of the most evocatively illustrated books we have - possibly my favorite. I was amazed to learn how s..l..o..w..l..y saguaros grow,, how much time passes before they flower, and how briefly those blossoms are open. What I love most about this book is the way it reveals the saguaro as a sympathetic being, growing so slow and steady in a harsh environment, and then *also* as an empathetic being, supporting so many other desert dwellers.
Cactus Hotel. 1991, Brenda Z. Guiberson, Megan Lloyd. Target age: PreK-Gr3 [read aloud, libraries, book stores]