It's Friday and time for Fast Five Fiction! Each week I share five fiction books: new books, notable books, books around a common theme. This week we kicked off our Smokey Bear Reading Challenge to celebrate Smokey the Bear's 80th birthday. This challenge is geared towards kids ages 4-10 and involves them taking Smokey's Pledge, reading 3 books, and earning 4 badges. Logs are available to be picked up in the children's department, here's a small sampling of books that would work for this challenge.
Click the title to be directed to the book in our catalog. Book descriptions are from Goodreads.
Wildfire! by Ashley Wolff
With stunning, cinematic art, this fact-based picture book takes readers into the heart of a forest fire and shows how animals survive, how heroic first responders curb the flames, and how life gradually returns to the forest.
There is a flash. Then a crack. Bluejay spreads the “Firefirefire in the forest!”
There’s a wildfire on Spruce Mountain! High up in the Evergreen Tower, dispatcher Maria sees it, too. She calls on expert teams of pilots, smokejumpers, and firefighters to battle the blaze. Meanwhile, the animals of the forest, from bears to deer to turtles, take shelter from the smoke and flames.
Featuring detailed end matter about forest fires and firefighting techniques and tools, this timely picture book is perfect for anyone interested in firefighting and protecting our natural spaces.
Wombat Underground: A Wildfire Survival Story by Sarah L. Thomson
Up on the hill, Wallaby licks a puddle’s last drop. Skink slips into the shade. Echidna hides in grass as dry as tinder. Under the hill, Wombat carves out a cave that’s all his own. Then—KABOOM!—lightning strikes.
Written in simple and concise language perfect for a read aloud, award-winning author Sarah L. Thomson invites readers to see through the eyes of a wombat as a fire rages through Australian outback. Nearly 3 billion animals were affected by the Australian wildfires of 2019-2020, and wombats played a crucial part in allowing their homes to transform as safe havens for other animals whose homes were destroyed in the fires. Paired with stunning and richly layered art by Charles Santoso, Wombat Underground teaches us that the time of greatest danger is also the time to open our door to those in the greatest need.
I Survived the California Wildfires, 2018 by Lauren Tarshis
The people of Northern California were used to living with the threat of wildfires. But nothing could have prepared them for the devastating 2018 fire season, the deadliest in 100 years and the most destructive in history.In the 20th I Survived book, readers join eleven-year-old Josh as he leaves his New Jersey home for the rural northern California town where his cousins live. Still reeling from the life-changing challenges that propelled him and his mother across the country, Josh struggles to adapt to a more rustic, down-to-earth lifestyle that couldn't be more different from the one he is used to.Josh and his cousin bond over tacos and reptiles and jokes, but on a trip into the nearby forest, they suddenly find themselves in the path of a fast-moving firestorm, a super-heated monster that will soon lay waste to millions of acres of wilderness and -- possibly -- their town. Josh needs to confront the family issues burning him up inside, but first he'll have to survive the flames blazing all around him.
Two Degrees by Alan Gratz
Four kids fighting for their lives.
Akira is riding her horse in the California woods when a wildfire sparks--and grows scarily fast. How can she make it to safety when there are flames everywhere?
Owen and his best friend, George, are used to seeing polar bears on the snowy Canadian tundra. But when one bear gets way too close for comfort, do the boys have any chance of surviving?
Natalie hunkers down at home as a massive hurricane barrels toward Miami. When the floodwaters crash into her house, Natalie is dragged out into the storm--with nowhere to hide.
Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie are all swept up in the devastating effects of climate change. They are also connected in ways that will shock them--and could alter their destinies forever.
We Will Live in This Forest Again by Gianna Marino
At first, they didn't notice the spark flying above the dry treetops.
But then the smoke blew from the north, and the flames began to grow. . .
This story of recovery and resilience will comfort young readers concerned about forest fires, reassuring them that in time new growth will sprout and, like the wildlife in the story, we can rebuild.
Lush watercolor illustrations explore the bittersweet cycle of burning and rebirth in the forest, following a lone deer as it sees its only home scorched by flame--and later, returns to find new plants already sprouting, the promise of a day when the air will be filled with birdsong once again.
As a Northern California resident, Gianna Marino witnessed the 2017 Sonoma wildfire firsthand when it came within inches of destroying her property. Her personal experience is palpably reflected through her portrayal of dignified animal silhouettes and stark, ashen landscapes in the wake of the flames. The book closes with an essay describing her encounter with the wildfire. Accessible information on wildfires, including a list of recommendations for further reading, is also included.
Happy Friday and happy reading!
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