Sign-In
Cart
What Good Is a Dead Tree?: A Science Mystery
Hardcover
Publisher: Millbrook Press (Tm)
Published: Apr 7 2026
Pages: 40
Weight: 0.90
Height: 0.60 Width: 10.80 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Creeaaakkkk . . . CRASH!
A mighty oak has fallen in the forest. But fifty years later, the only evidence that it was there is a dark mark on the forest floor. Where did it go?
Author and photographer Doug Wechsler invites readers to dig into this biological mystery and discover the answer to the disappearance. Trees are the basis of a lot of life in a forest--and that doesn't stop when they die. Millions of creatures depend on dead trees for food and shelter. Following the fall of an oak tree, Wechsler explains how the tree is broken down by animals, insects, and fungi over the course of fifty years. Along the way, explore parts of a tree, insect lifecycles, and the magic of mycelia. And discover how rotten wood benefits the forest by providing essential nutrients for new trees to grow.
Also from
Wechsler, Doug
Also in
Science & Nature
Up Close and Incredible: Human Body: An Interactive Adventure with a 3× Magnifying Glass
Thomas, Isabel
Hardcover
A Little Book of Slime: Everything That Oozes, from Killer Slime to Living Mold
Twist, Clint
Hardcover
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs
National Geographic Kids
Hughes, Catherine D.
Hardcover
Fourteen Ways of Looking at Jellyfish: (A Picture Book Exploring Ocean Life, Marine Science, and Underwater Wonders for Ages 6-8, Grades 1-3)
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Hardcover
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space, 2nd Edition
Hughes, Catherine D.
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Paint by Sticker Kids (Official): Outer Space: Create 10 Pictures One Sticker at a Time! Includes Glow-In-The-Dark Stickers
Workman Publishing
Paperback
National Geographic Kids Science Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition: Atom Smashing, Food Chemistry, Animals, Space, and More!
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Spooky Rivers: 25 Strange and Mysterious Rivers That Snake Across Our Planet
Rutherford, Geo
Hardcover
We Need to Talk about Cancer: An Important Book for Patients, Family, and Friends
Juneja, Sanjay
Neon Squid
Paperback
A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, a Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out
Day, Nicholas
Hardcover
When Twilight Comes: The Animals and Plants That Bring Dawn and Dusk to Life
Atkins, Marcie Flinchum
Hardcover
Reading the Bones: Homo Naledi and the Mysteries of Human Evolution
Mead, John S.
Aronson, Marc
Hardcover
We Can Hear Without Ears: And Other Things You Didn't Know We Plants Could Do
Peters, Lisa Westberg
Hardcover
National Geographic Little Kids First Encyclopedia of Almost Everything
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
The Big Book of Pi: The Famous Number You Can Never Know
Aubin, Jean-Baptiste
Lehmann, Anita
Hardcover
Cryptids: Uncover the Secrets Behind the World's Most Baffling Beasts and Curious Creatures
MacFarlane, Tamara
Hardcover
Eyes, Knees, Boundaries, Please!: My First Book about Private Parts and Consent
Playforth, Krupa Bhojani, MD
Hardcover
An Anthology of Beetles: A Collection of Brilliant Beetles from Around the World
Jones, Richard
Hardcover
An Anthology of Flowers: A Collection of Flowers from Gardens, Mountains and More, with Fascinating Secrets
Bailey, Maddie
Hardcover
Why Space Will Freak You Out: The Scariest, Strangest Parts of the Universe
Arcand, Kimberly K.
Watzke, Megan
Paperback
Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide
Workman Publishing
Paperback
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space
Hughes, Catherine D.
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Why: Questions and Answers about the World for Curious Kids
Shields, Amy
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Planets (National Geographic Kids Readers, Level 2)
National Geographic Kids
Carney, Elizabeth
Paperback
Chasing Eruptions: How Volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft Helped Save 60,000 Lives-But Lost Their Own
Manley, Curtis
Hardcover
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt: (Nature Book for Kids, Gardening and Vegetable Planting, Outdoor Nature Book)
Messner, Kate
Paperback
Zombie Spiders and Asteroid Blasters: 16 Incredible Ways That Scientists Are Changing the World
Okereke, Maynard
Hardcover
National Geographic Kids Why?: Over 1,111 Answers to Everything
Boyer, Crispin
National Geographic Kids
Hardcover
Glass: Looking In, Looking Out: (A Nonfiction Book about the Science, History, and Everyday Uses of Glass for Ages 7-10)
Theule, Larissa
Hardcover
Don't Call Me a Star!: A Fun, Fact-Filled Adventure That Sets the Record Straight!
Guillain, Charlotte
Hardcover
Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka Con La Papa: Join the Quest with Peru's Famed Scientist and Potato Expert
Fajardo, Sara Andrea
Hardcover
How to Survive an Apocalypse: The End of the World Doesn't Have to Be the End of the World
Coonradt, Coby
Hardy, Cameron
Hardcover
Beasts from Before the Dinosaurs: Extraordinary Forgotten Creatures from 250 Million Years Ago
Lerwill, Ben
Hardcover