Nature

The end of ice : bearing witness and finding meaning in the path of climate disruption book cover

The end of ice : bearing witness and finding meaning in the path of climate disruption

Dahr Jamail

363.73874 /Jamail
Science, Nature, Nonfiction

"After nearly a decade overseas as a war reporter, the acclaimed journalist Dahr Jamail returned to America to renew his passion for mountaineering, only to find that the slopes he had once climbed have been irrevocably changed by climate disruption. In response, Jamail embarks on a journey to the geographical front lines of this crisis--from Alaska to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, via the Amazon rainforest--in order to discover the consequences to nature and to humans. In [this book], we follow Jamail as he scales Denali, the highest peak in North America, dives in the warm crystal waters of the Pacific only to find bleached coral reefs, and explores the tundra of St. Paul Island where he meets the last subsistence seal hunters of the Bering Sea and witnesses its collapsing food web. Accompanied along the way by climate scientists and people whose families for centuries have fished, farmed, and lived in the areas he visits, Jamail begins to accept the fact that Earth, most likely, is in a hospice situation. Ironically, this allows him to renew his passion for the planet's wild places, cherishing Earth in a way he has never been able to before. Like no other book, The End of Ice offers a firsthand chronicle of the catastrophic reality of our situation and the incalculable necessity of relishing and caring for this vulnerable, fragile planet while we still can."--Dust jacket.

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Added by Candice

The girl and the wolf book cover

The girl and the wolf

Katherena Vermette

jE Vermette
Read Woke, Picture Books, Nature

"A young girl becomes lost in the woods after wandering too far away from her mother. Scared because she is lost, she encounters a large wolf who reminds her of her own ability to survive and find her mother again."--

Casey's picture

A stunning take on the classic "girl meets wolf" tale, just right for sharing. -Casey

Hakumei & Mikochi : tiny little life in the woods book cover

Hakumei & Mikochi : tiny little life in the woods

Takuto Kashiki‏

MANGA Kashiki Hakumei
Graphic Novels, Nature, Fantasy, Humor, Short Story

"Deep within a lush, green forest live Hakumei and Mikochi. Making their home in trees, using leaves for umbrellas, and riding bugs for transportation is just part of everyday life for these tiny pals!"--

Casey's picture

Nonstop cuteness from start to finish--a sweet slice of teeny tiny life! -Casey

Sweet dreamers book cover

Sweet dreamers

Isabelle Simler

jE Simler
Picture Books, Nature, Animals

Several different animals settle in for the night, each with their own unique way of sleeping.

Casey's picture

Soft and cozy, Simler's latest is a beautiful and informative look at animal sleep habits. Also, it glows under black light! -Casey

The stuff of stars book cover

The stuff of stars

Marion Dane Bauer

jE Bauer
Picture Books, Science, Nature

Explores the formation of the universe.

Casey's picture

An intersection of art and science, breathtaking, highly abstract, and yet tangible--don't miss this one! -Casey

A big mooncake for little star book cover

A big mooncake for little star

Grace Lin

jE Lin
Picture Books, Fantasy, Nature

Reimagines the cycles of the moon as a mother bakes a Big Moon Cookie and, despite Mama's request to wait, Little Star begins nibbling at it every night.

Casey's picture

Grace Lin has created a truly distinguished, female-centric, and empowering original folktale. -Casey

A big mooncake for little star book cover

A big mooncake for little star

Grace Lin

jE Lin
Picture Books, Fantasy, Nature

Reimagines the cycles of the moon as a mother bakes a Big Moon Cookie and, despite Mama's request to wait, Little Star begins nibbling at it every night.

Casey's picture

A beautiful original folk tale--be sure to look out for nods to real constellations! -Casey

Once upon a jungle book cover

Once upon a jungle

Laura Knowles

jE Knowles
Picture Books, Nature, Animals

Casey's picture

This rhyming text is an eye-catching and fun first look at the jungle as an ecosystem and the food chain found within. -Casey

Gunflint burning : fire in the boundary waters book cover

Gunflint burning : fire in the boundary waters

Cary J. Griffith

363.379 /Griffith
Science, Nature

On May 5, 2007, two days into his twenty-seventh trip to the Boundary Waters, Stephen Posniak found a perfect spot on Ham Lake and set about making a campfire. Over the next two weeks, the fire he set would consume 75,000 acres of forest and 144 buildings. More than one thousand firefighters would rally to extinguish the blaze, at a cost of 11 million dollars. Gunflint Burning is a comprehensive account of the dramatic events around the Ham Lake fire, one of the largest wildfires in Minnesota history. Cary J. Griffith describes what happened in the minutes, hours, and days after Posniak struck that fateful match--from the first hint of danger to the ensuing race to flee the fire or defend imperiled property to the incredible efforts of firefighters and residents battling a blaze that lit up the Gunflint Trail like the fuse to a powder keg. We meet locals faced with losing everything: the sheriff and his deputy tasked with getting everyone out alive; tourists caught unawares; men and women using every piece of equipment and modern firefighting technique against impossibly high winds and dry conditions to suppress a wildfire as it grew to historic proportions; and, finally, Stephen Posniak, who in the aftermath tragically took his own life--the fire's only fatality. In sharp detail, Gunflint Burning describes the key events of the Ham Lake fire as they unfold, providing readers with a sense of being on the front lines of an epic struggle that was at times heroic, tragic, and sublime.

Jason's picture

Cary J. Griffith’s account of the 2007 Ham Lake fire that, over two weeks, burned 75,000 acres of woodlands in northern Minnesota and into Canada. Griffith opens with the fire raging towards an inhabited area of northwood cabins, a local Deputy tries to persuade a resourceful 76-year-old area resident to follow the mandatory evacuation. The story is told chronologically and from many points of view, Griffith introduces us to a variety of people involved in the fire and it’s plain to see that he was thorough in his search for first hand accounts. Over the following chapters Griffith introduces us to the camper whose fire started the blaze, resort and homeowners in the area, police and fire personnel, as well as scientists that detail the natural and climatic conditions that led to it burning so widely. His descriptions of the area’s natural history help to explain how this fire got out of hand so quickly. Those with a strong connection to the area that “Gunflint Burning” covers and can attest that Griffith was able to capture the sights and sounds that make canoe trips in the Boundary Waters so special. -Jason

The plant messiah : adventures in search of the world's rarest species book cover

The plant messiah : adventures in search of the world's rarest species

Carlos Magdalena

581.68 /Magdalena
Science, Nature

Carlos Magdalena is not your average horticulturist. He's a man on a mission to save the world's most endangered plants. First captivated by the flora and his native Spain, he has traveled to the remotest parts of the globe in search of exotic species. Renowned for his pioneering work, he has committed his life to protecting plants from man-made ecological destruction and thieves hunting for wealthy collectors. In The Plant Messiah, Magdalena takes readers from the Amazon to the jungles of Mauritius to deep within the Australian outback in search of the rare and the vulnerable. Back in the lab, we watch as he develops groundbreaking, left-field techniques for rescuing species from extinction, encouraging them to propagate and thrive once again. Along the way, he offers moving, heartfelt stories about the secrets contained within these incredible organisms. Passionate and absorbing, The Plant Messiah is a tribute to the diversity of life on our planet, and the importance of preserving it. -- from dust jacket.

Jason's picture

Autobiographical stories of his work as Tropical Senior Botanical Horticulturist for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England. Carlos describes coming from a family that encouraged exploration, as well as respect and caretaking for the plants and animals of Asturias in Northern Spain. When wanderlust overtook him at 28, he travelled to London where a trip to the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew changed his world. Their efforts to save highly endangered plants mirrored his passion for caring for the land back in Asturias. He has an energetic, driven personality that comes through in his recounts of his intense Kew education in the greenhouses and beyond. Most of the book recounts his journeys to save seeds or cuttings of rare plants found in the islands of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, Amazon backwaters in Peru, and many other far flung locations. He’s a great storyteller and has set up each chapter as if he has to solve a puzzle with life or death stakes, how do these rare plants produce fruit, seed, and ultimately a new plant? He includes simple overviews of the science behind his a-ha moments, so even if you don’t have a botanical background you come away with an understanding for how these mysteries were solved. His passion for plants is infectious and it carries through in his writing, the stories are often zany and move quickly and you’re left feeling that we need many more people with the drive and desire of this plant messiah. -Jason