Champion: the comeback tale of the American chestnut tree

Description

American Chestnut trees were once plentiful in North America's eastern forests. They towered up to one hundred feet tall, providing food and shelter for people and animals alike. To many, life without the chestnut was unimaginable - until disaster struck in the early 1900s. What began in the bark of a few trees soon became an unstoppable killing force, traveling across hundreds of miles and leaving dead chestnut trees in its wake. An unknown blight was wiping out the American chestnut, and scientists felt powerless to prevent it. But the story doesn't end there. Today, the American chestnut is making it comeback, telling a tale of loss and restoration, and of the triumph of human ingenuity. Narrative-nonfiction master Sally M. Walker delves into the natural world with this beautifully photographed middle-grade book. -- From dust jacket.;"The story of the near-extinction and recovery of the American Chestnut tree."--