New Children's Eco-Fantasy Novel Wins Award for Nature Writing

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (PRWEB) November 3, 2008

"Southcrop Forest" is a children's book--and more. It is steeped in nature, science and Canadian history, made accessible through an engaging, Tolkienesque narrative. A menagerie of plants and animals parades across its pages. Threats from urban sprawl and climate change are central to the plot.

"Southcrop Forest" is an animal fantasy, with a young protagonist who faces terrible dangers, daunting tasks, impossible odds and his own fears. But what a strange protagonist. He is Fur, a colony of caterpillars--a single creature, with one voice and one mind made from a collective. And his companion in this story is Auja, a young oak tree.

Auja lives in Southcrop Forest and Southcrop is in danger. Tree civilization is built upon a subterranean communication network--like a worldwide web for trees. The hubs of this web are the trees' special farms that hold the source of all tree power. And the last farms in Southcrop are about to be destroyed by humans. The farms of Southcrop are unlike any other. They hold a secret treasure, only just discovered--a treasure so great it could change the world for trees everywhere. But Southcrop Forest is a fragment, bounded by highways and sprawl. Since trees can't walk and their communication lines have been cut, they cannot spread their new-found gift across the land.

The adventure begins when Auja discovers little Fur amongst her branches, a legendary creature not seen for a thousand years. Though small and meek, Fur can travel through the forest and communicate with trees. Fur embarks on a desperate quest to gather the trees' great treasure and carry it across Oak River to the forests of Deep Sky. Ghoulish enemies hunt him on his journey of enlightenment as he learns about the ecology of his world, the threat of humans, and finally, the eerie secret of his existence.

Author, Lorne Rothman states, "I wanted to write an exciting, mythical fantasy but one in which all the creatures and places are real. I wanted to pull kids away from their computer screens and help them to see the nature that's all around us." Readers agree he succeeded. "There has never been a book like this," says Bookreview.com "Makes you see nature in a fresh way." And fourteen-year old Ian McCurley, reviewer for Reader Views observes, "Though the book includes many scientific facts, they are expressed in a way perfect for children."

About the Author

Lorne Rothman holds a Ph.D. in Zoology and studied ecology at the Universities of Toronto, British Columbia and Alberta. He lives in mid-town Toronto, Canada with his wife, two daughters and two cats, under the canopy of one of the finest stands of old growth oak in the city.

"Southcrop Forest" (ISBN 9780595495887, iUniverse, 2008) (ISBN, Press, 2008) can be purchased through local and online bookstores. For more information, visit http://www.southcropforest.ca/. Publicity contact: http://www.ReaderViews.com. Review copies available upon request.

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