Phyllis Root

Minnesota author/illustrator team Phyllis Root and Betsy Bowen, who collaborated on three previous picture books—Big Belching Bog in 2010, and One North Star: A Counting Book and Plant a Pocket of Prairie in 2016—joined forces again for this look at the "Lost Forty"—a patch of old growth forest in Minnesota that was surveyed incorrectly in 1882, leading it to escape the deforestation experienced in most of the rest of that state. The narrative described the history of surveying in the show more US, the process of surveying—what the surveyors needed and what they did—and how this lucky mistake, in which the Lost Forty was marked on the map as a lake, allowed this patch of forest to survive, eventually becoming part of the Chippewa National Forest. The book closes with extensive back matter, giving more information about old growth forests—where to find them in Minnesota and the flora and fauna living there—about surveyors and their tools and vocabulary, and about the survey mistake that saved this natural wonder...

Published in 2019 by the University of Minnesota Press, which also published the three previous titles from this author/illustrator team, The Lost Forest is a title I had to track down through interlibrary loan, as the only book by Root and Bowen my local libraries owns is Plant a Pocket of Prairie. It is the third book from these creators I have read, and I look forward to tracking down the fourth, One North Star: A Counting Book. In any case, I found this one immensely engaging, loving both the story and information presented by Root and the lovely artwork from Bowen. I am a great fan of her woodcut illustrations, and these lived up to my expectations! I found myself thinking, while reading this one, how fortunate that "mistake" was, that spared the Lost Forty (as it is known in Minnesota), and imagining scenarios in which it was deliberate, either due to some desire on the surveyors' part to protect it, or through some other force. A few story ideas have already occurred to me! Given my love of Bowen's work, I've been tracking down and reading a number of Minnesota-focused titles recently, and I am glad of it, despite having spent almost no time in that state. But the trend certainly has made me think I should seek out similar titles about my current home state of New Jersey. Recommended to young nature lovers, or to picture book readers interested in history and its sometimes quirky and unusual stories. show less

Minnesota author/illustrator team Phyllis Root and Betsy Bowen, who have collaborated on three other picture books—Big Belching Bog in 2010, One North Star: A Counting Book in 2016 and The Lost Forest in 2019—join forces in this second 2016 title to explore the prairie ecosystem. Specifically, how it has mostly disappeared from their home state, and how it might be brought back, in part, by the planting of prairie flora, which will in turn encourage the return of prairie fauna. The show more poetic narrative describes planting different species of plant, and the various animals this might encourage and support. Extensive back matter discusses the historical loss of prairie, offers instructions on how to plant a pocket of prairie, discusses the animals and plants mentioned in the main narrative, and describes where in Minnesota one can still find prairie...

Plant a Pocket of Prairie is a lovely book, pairing an informative and inspirational text with absolutely gorgeous artwork. I appreciated everything about it, from the text, artwork and layout, to the educational back matter, and the local focus. That being said, I have to agree with the friend whose review alerted me to this book, some years ago, that the latter—the local focus—is a potential problem. The book is published by the University of Minnesota Press, and is clearly intended to be read in the context of that state's history and ecology. While the section in the back matter does encourage the reader to do some research, before planting prairie willy-nilly—something that would hopefully highlight if such activity would be inappropriate—I do think the assumption here is that the reader lives somewhere were prairie should be reintroduced. Given the national readership of the book—I checked it out of my public library in central New Jersey, where there has never been any prairie—this might confuse some young children. While I can't really fault the author for not broadening her focus, given the fact that this is so clearly a local/regional project, I do think it might have been nice to include something in that section, to the effect that if the reader is living in a non-prairie region, they might research local fauna they can reintroduce in their own locale.

Leaving aside this critique, this is one I strongly recommend to young nature lovers, with the proviso that the adults in their life—parents and/or educators—should emphasize that this is really a book about Minnesota. show less

Co-authors Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt team up with illustrator Melissa Sweet in this lovely picture book biography of 19th-century New England poet, artist and gardener Celia Thaxter. Growing up on the remote and harsh White Island, where her father served as the lighthouse keeper, Celia treasured every bit of color she could find, and constantly planted flowers and other plants. This continued when the family moved to nearby Appledore Island, where her father opened a hotel frequented show more by many famous authors and artists, and Celia became known for her beautiful garden. When she married and moved to the mainland, she missed her windswept home in the Isles of Shoals—a group of small islands in the Gulf of Maine, between Maine and New Hampshire—so much that she began to write poems expressing her longing to return. She also began to create artwork depicting the beautiful flowers she loved, paying tribute to the garden she missed. Eventually becoming a popular and well-loved poet, she would return to Appledore, to her father's hotel and her beloved garden...

Before picking up Celia Planted a Garden: The Story of Celia Thaxter and Her Island Garden I knew nothing of the eponymous Celia, her poetry and artwork, nor her famous garden, immortalized in her 1894 prose work, An Island Garden, which was illustrated by the painter Childe Hassam. I am glad to have that deficiency rectified, as Thaxter sounds like a fascinating figure, one who led an unconventional and intriguing life, knew many interesting people in the literary and artistic world, and who spent her creative energy celebrating the beauty she found around her. I appreciated the use of the poet's own words, with quotations appearing in side panels on many of the pages, alongside the main narrative, and I found Melissa Sweet's accompanying mixed media artwork simply gorgeous. Her use of color and shape was immensely appealing, and I thought many of the scenes were just breathtaking! Recommended to young poets, artists and gardeners, and to anyone seeking engaging picture book biographies about unusual people leading interesting lives and doing creative things. show less

Hungry, cold, and in desperate need of a friend, Scrawny Cat - who once belonged to someone who fed him, held him, and let him lick her chin - wanders through his small seaside village, shouted at by the shopkeepers, and chased by dogs. Finally, exhausted and alone, he takes shelter in a small dinghy during a rain storm, and awakens to find himself adrift. When he comes ashore again, he finds himself on a small island, and encounters a woman who seems friendly. But can he trust her...?

This show more tale of a little lost kitty who knew that "Get Out of Here!" wasn't his name, even though that was all that people ever called him, had me in hopeless sniffles this morning on my train-ride, as I was reading it. I'm a sucker for this kind of story - abandoned or lost animal finds a family and a home - in general, and Phyllis Root's narrative here is particularly well done. When combined with Alison Friend's expressive gouache artwork, it was very poignant indeed. Recommended to all young cat lovers, particularly those who appreciate rather melancholy stories with happy endings. show less