I have actually seen Redwoods, by Jason Chin, at our library on a few occasions. I have no idea why it took me so many visits to decide to toss it into the book bag, but I am certainly glad that I finally did! Redwoods is a perfectly clever mash-up of imaginative storytelling and expository writing. It is an exploration of the undeniably amazing facts about redwoods, but it is also a beautifully illustrated view of the fantasy that grows in a boy's mind as he himself reads about the trees and thinks about what it would be like to find himself among them.
At the beginning of Redwoods, a young boy finds an abandoned book about redwood trees on a subway seat. He picks it up and begins to read, and suddenly the illustrations in the book shift from subway car to giant coastal redwood forest. You can almost feel the cool fog on your skin as you read about how redwoods grow, live and create habitat for other forest life.
The text of the book is just information-heavy enough to satisfy those kids who demand to know as much as possible about a subject of interest, without being overly wordy or difficult to understand. And I love they way that the illustrations create a paralell narrative that not only complements the text, but expands upon it, making the book feel like something that you can get lost in for a little while.
Having lived twenty years in California before moving to Vermont, I have been lucky enough to spend time in the redwood forests myself. Because of this, I know that there isn't really any book, photograph or even video that can accurately represent the majesty of those giant trees. That being said, I think this book does a lovely job of giving the reader a little idea of how enormous and awe-inspiring and beautiful and unusal the redwood forest is. And, it makes you wish that you could be there yourself, which I think is always a sign of a book well-written.
--- Annie
