Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

A timely middle grade nonfiction overview of the incredible ways animals detect, respond, and adapt to wildfires, as well as how climate change is affecting the frequency and severity of these devastating events in nature.

Goats and beavers. Drones and parachutes. Pinecones and beetles. What do they have in common? Believe it or not, they are all crucial tools in fighting, preventing, and adapting to wildfires!

These vicious fires are spreading faster and burning hotter than at any other time in history. Ongoing droughts, warming weather, and a history of poor forest management have extended the traditional wildfire season beyond the summer months. It is a matter of life and death for wildlife worldwide.

This breathtaking nonfiction book focuses on unique angles to a hot topic, including injury rehabilitation efforts, species that use wildfires to their advantage, how to help area repopulation, and the animals that help to prevent/fight wildfires. A riveting, kid friendly text is accompanied by stunning woodcut illustrations and full-color photographs, as well as extensive back matter with glossary, sources, and index.

Books for a Better Earth are designed to inspire children to become active, knowledgeable participants in caring for the planet they live on.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Series Overview: The Books for a Better Earth™ collection is designed to inspire young people to become active, knowledgeable participants in caring for the planet they live on. Focusing on solutions to climate change challenges, the collection looks at how scientists, activists, and young leaders are working to safeguard Earth’s future.

About the Author

Jessica Stremer is the author of Great Carrier Reef, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection which received two starred reviews. After studying biology with an emphasis in ecology, she began writing for children as a way to instill curiosity, wonder, and respect for our natural world. She lives with her family in Wisconsin. Visit her online at www.jessicastremer.com

Michael Garland has written and illustrated many books for children, including Fish Had a Wish (Kirkus Reviews Top 25 Children's Books), Tugboat (Best Children's Books for Family Literacy), Pizza Mouse (Junior Library Guild Selection), and Birds Make Nests (Correll Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Informational Text and NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book).

Illustrator Residence:Patterson, NY