REDWOODS

Chin introduces the world of old-growth redwood forests to young readers in this effective mix of fiction and nonfiction. Finding his own image on the cover of an abandoned book—this book, with metaliterary self-reference—an Asian-American boy scans it and is seamlessly swept into a stunning new watercolor world that juxtaposes a straightforward nonfiction text against fantastical images. A Roman Centurion and a toga-clad citizen flank him on the subway as he reads that redwoods “can live for more than 2,000 years.” Carrying the book as he walks through the forest, he learns about its growth patterns and its properties. He experiences the redwood’s ability to generate under-the-canopy rain and races ahead of a blaze while he reads about its ability to survive fire. The adventure intensifies when he springs into a climber’s harness, horizontal sequential panels allowing him to view the redwood’s inhabitants level by level. Rappelling down, he alights in a city park, where he leaves the book for another child to find. An inventive, eye-opening adventure. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)