Fire!: The Renewal of a Forest - Paperback

by Celia Godkin (Author)

It hasn't rained in the forest for many weeks. And in the sunny clearing, everything is dry and scorched. Then, late one afternoon, a hot wind begins to blow and storm clouds gather. But instead of rain, lightning fills the sky and strikes a tall tree beside the clearing. The lightning strike shoots down the tree and ignites the dry vegetation below. In no time, the forest is engulfed in flame. Soon there is nothing left but the charred ruins of the forest, devoid of life.

But the story is not over. Slowly and gradually, life returns to the forest - from the seeds that blow in on the wind and germinate, to the small creatures that have survived in their burrows below the ground. It will take many years; but eventually the forest will return, filled with life once more.

Author Biography

Celia Godkin trained as a biologist and worked as a scientific illustrator. An illustration job preparing signs for the Winnipeg zoo led to a collaboration on the book Endangered Species: Canada's Disappearing Wildlife. Encouraged by this success Celia illustrated an ecology story she had written years earlier and showed it to her publisher. The resulting book, Wolf Island, won the Children's Literature Roundtables Best Information Book Award and was the first of six (so far) beautiful and informative books that explore nature's remarkable ability to renew itself. The others include Ladybug Garden, Sea Otter Inlet, When the Giant Stirred, and Fire!, which was short-listed for several awards including the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction. Celia now lives in an old farmhouse in Eastern Ontario.