From the winter day when the Great Tree falls until the bloom of spring and early summer, ten-year-old Ellie and her new friend, Ricky, explore the Douglas fir forest where Ellie lives. They learn about how trees decay in a conifer forest, discover where a great diversity of critters live, and experience the wonder of seasonal changes. Delightful colored pen and ink drawings of forest habitats tell the "forest's story," while more intimate sketches bring to life the animal's stories—for example, wrens hiding in the snow, flying squirrels drifting across the tree tops, and bats scouting at night. At the end of each chapter the simple notes and drawings of Ellie's own field notebook are written in her hand. These pages provide examples of the data, notes, and drawings that children might use in creating journals of their own.

From ellieslog.org

After a huge tree crashes to the ground during a winter storm, ten-year-old Ellie and her new friend, Ricky, explore the forest where Ellie lives. Together, they learn how trees provide habitat for plants and animals high in the forest canopy, down among mossy old logs, and deep in the pools of a stream. The plants, insects, birds, and mammals they discover come to life in colored pen-and-ink drawings. An engaging blend of science and storytelling, Ellie’s Log also features: • Pages from Ellie’s own field notebook, which provide a model for recording observations in nature • Ellie’s advice to readers for keeping a field notebook • Ellie's book recommendations • Online resources for readers and teachers—including a Teacher’s Guide—are available at the companion website: ellieslog.org. The forest and animals described in Ellie's Log are based on those found at the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the Oregon Cascades, where researchers have been learning about forests and streams for decades.

From the publisher