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It’s officially summer, and there’s no better time to start a good book. Our staff compiled a list of recommended books featuring forests; whether you’re a landowner, an educator, or a forest enthusiast, you’ll be sure to find a book you’ll love on the Maine TREE Summer Reading List.
“First on my summer reading list is Reading the Forested Landscape by Tom Wessels; I was told that any aspiring forester or forest researcher, especially those of us in New England, should read this book because it teaches you how to look at a forest from a new perspective.” – Paulina Murray, Research Fellow.
“For anyone looking for a thought-provoking story that will leave you contemplating the interconnectedness of humans, the natural world, and the value of trees, I highly recommend The Overstory by Richard Powers.” – Hope Light, Communications and Development Coordinator
*Disclaimer: this book includes topics that may be difficult or painful for some readers to read about, including suicide and manslaughter.
Lena Ives, Director of Education and Maine PLT Coordinator said choosing just one book to recommend was like asking her to pick her favorite child. She settled on recommending one book each for educators, young adults, and children.
For Educators: The Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louve
For the young or young at heart: The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
For children: Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
Our Forest Programs Coordinator, Kayci Willis, recommends A Sand County Almanac – Aldo Leopold, calling it “a classic.” Elaborating that “Aldo is a utilitarian but deeply values nature for nature’s sake, not just resource extraction. This was a formative book for me, and many of his views remain true 75 years later.” She also recommended All We Can Save – Ayana Johnson & Katharine Wilkinson, a collection of essays, stories, and poems exploring climate change from the perspective of women.
For those looking to explore management options for their woodland, Logan Johnson, Maine TREE’s Executive Director, recommended What Will My Woods Look Like? by the Maine Forest Service. This booklet is free as a PDF and shows some typical forest stands before and after different logging operations. The pictures are intended to help start a pre-harvest discussion about post-harvest results. The forest scenes also help tell the story of woodland stewardship, forest management, and the professionals who make it happen.
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