Posts about The Boreal Forest


News Roundup – Earth Week Edition

Happy Earth Week, my friends! Tech Support and I celebrated Earth Day by doing our annual "stick it in the ground and hope for the best" spring planting in the back garden. So far, the neighborhood bunny - affectionately ... Read More  

Wolves for World Wildlife Day, March 3, 2023

Wolves for World Wildlife Day

All across the boreal forests of Canada, wolves look for the same things: clean water, safe dens, and places where deer or moose are plentiful. When wolves find everything they need in one area, they establish a territory, and ... Read More  

Cover of Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth

Science Literacy Week! And The Cover of My New Book It’s So Pretty I Can’t Even!!

It's Science Literacy Week! And while I cannot even believe it's the middle of September already, I am always so excited when SLW rolls around. Because SLW is the week when we celebrate science, and what science is, and ... Read More  

cover of The Boreal Forest by L. E. Carmichael

Welcome to 2022

Two weeks into 2020-too - how is everyone doing? It's been a mixed bag for me so far. In the YAAAAAAY column, I got my COVID booster (woo vaccines! woo science!) and The Boreal Forest won the 2021 Information Book ... Read More  

C is for Climate: Three Ways to Celebrate Science Literacy Week!

For those unfamiliar, Science Literacy Week is an annual event that celebrates the messy, astounding, wonder-filled thing that is the scientific method and all the knowledge it gives us. It's a time to learn about science, do some science, ... Read More  

Fox Cousteau joins Team Pfizer

A Desperately Needed Vacation

So, how's everyone doing out there? Frustrated? Exhausted? Burnt out? Yeah. Me too. I've been trying to figure out why I'm so tired - usually after I realize I've been staring into the middle distance for an unknown number of minutes ... Read More  

The Boreal Forest Wins A Yellow Cedar Honour

I am well and truly honoured by this news! The Forest of Reading is a children's choice award program, and knowing that kids across the country thought my book was good enough to vote for? That's both humbling and ... Read More  

I Write Canadian

It’s Almost I Read Canadian Day!

February 17th - next Wednesday - is the second annual I Read Canadian Day! Help me celebrate it by spending 15 minutes reading a book - any book! - by a Canadian author. Read More  

The Boreal Forest of Reading!

YOU GUYS. The Boreal Forest has been nominated for a YELLOW CEDAR AWARD in the FOREST OF READING. If you're not familiar, the Forest of Reading is the largest recreational reading program in Canada. Kids across the country can register ... Read More  

cover of The Boreal Forest by L. E. Carmichael

The Final Forest Friday

In the three years I spent working on The Boreal Forest and preparing to release it into the world, I never in my wildest dreams expected to have to do it during a pandemic. And it's been both harder ... Read More  

The boreal forest is a vast and vital wilderness that is worth protecting.

How Can We Preserve The Boreal Forest?

Last week we talked about some of the reasons that the boreal forest matters - not just to those of us who live there, but to the entire world. This week, I wanted to draw your attention to some ... Read More  

In addition to providing habitat for plants and animals, the boreal forest supports people's cultural, spiritual, and aesthetic needs.

What Is a Forest For?

When I was writing The Boreal Forest, one of my goals was to shine some light on ecological processes - by showing how a forest works, I could hopefully show what a forest is for... by which I mean, ... Read More  

The Canada lynx is one of the few cat species to call the boreal forest home.

How Do You End a Book, Anyway?

This is the original draft of the final scene in The Boreal Forest: Snow falls from a flat grey sky. It hisses in the steam that rises from a hotspring. A snowshoe hare laps at the warm water. She nibbles ... Read More  

Squirrels are familiar denizens of both North American and Eurasian boreal forests, building hordes on both continents.

Hoards: Not Just for Dragons Anymore

Pages 34-35 of The Boreal Forest show boreal birds migrating south for the winter. That scene originally included this snippet, showing a different winter survival strategy: Red squirrels fill their winter pantries. One hauls a mushroom up a pine, wedging ... Read More  

To stay warm in a boreal winter, North American martens grow thick fur - even on the pads of their feet!

Evolution of a Scene: Revision and The Boreal Forest

Today, on Forest Friday, we're going to take a deeper dive behind the scenes into the process of revision. I'm going to share every draft of the first scene in The Boreal Forest (pages 8-9), and explain how the ... Read More  

Scientists think that white and black fur might serve as a high-contrast warning, rather than camouflage.

The Appalachian Extension: Spotted Skunks in the Southern Boreal

The boreal forest is generally considered a northern forest, because boreal species, like pines and birch and rhododendrons, thrive in cooler climates. But cool climates are also found at high altitudes, so boreal forests extend into mountain ranges along ... Read More  

Northern flickers have the longest tongues of any woodpecker in the boreal forest.

Deleted Scenes – Of Flickers and Fire

Sunbeams dance in a birch grove, sparkling off the morning dew. Rat-a-tat-a-tat! A northern flicker drums on a burned stump, then flutters to the soil. It pecks and scratches, licking up ants with its long tongue. In a puddle ... Read More  

One of Josée Bisaillon's illustrations for The Boreal Forest, by L. E. Carmichael, created in her signature mixed media collage/watercolour style

The Partnership Between Author and Illustrator

My previous books cover a wide range of age groups and topics, but they all have one thing in common: they are illustrated with photographs. The Boreal Forest was the first book I've ever written that has illustrations instead. ... Read More  


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