Published by Neal Porter Books
Summary: A deer tells her experience surviving a wildfire. The forest has always been her home, and when the fire gets close, she doesn’t notice it at first. But soon it is roaring in, and she and other animals are running for their lives. She sees a fierce mountain lion’s fur burning, and realizes he is as fragile as she is. After the fire is gone, the forest is blackened and smoky, but soon the animals return, rain falls, and green shoots start growing. The conclusion? “We will live in this forest again.” Includes an author’s note on her experience of the 2017 California wildfire, wildfire facts, and books and websites for further reading. 40 pages; ages 4-8.
Pros: Marino’s beautiful watercolors give an impressionistic view of the fire, with the colors changing from green to yellow, orange, and red, to black, and back to green again. The extra information at the end ups its value to older kids.
Cons: The picture of the mountain lion with a small flame on its head and the implication that it died in the fire was a little disturbing (although obviously realistic).
