Posts Tagged underwater forest

STEM Tuesday — Oceans — Author Interview with Jennifer Swanson

By on August 27, 2024   /   Oceans, STEM Tuesday  

 

 

I’m excited to welcome award-winning STEM author Jennifer Swanson

Jennifer Swanson

to the STEM Tuesday blog today.  She’s going to share her book journey with us.

 

 

 

 

 

Get ready to take a deep dive into the mysterious world of an underwater forest!

The Lost Forest book by Jennifer Swanson

The Lost Forest: An Unexpected Discovery Beneath the Waves (Millbrook Press, April 2, 2024)

A Junior Library Guild Selection

“A detailed, thought-provoking account of the work of scientists.”―Kirkus Reviews

“This book details the fascinating story of the dedicated scuba divers and their work to locate and preserve the area. No one has ever found such a unique habitat, and hopefully, no one will be able to disturb it as scientists work to keep it safe. Readers who enjoy earthly mysteries will enjoy this title. Reviewer Rating: 5″―Children’s Literature

“Swanson, who shadowed the scientists, documents their methods and discoveries in an appealing narrative, complemented by photos of the scientists in action. In the process, readers learn such amazing details as the dangers of diving, organizing experiments, gene sequencing, and finding new species.”―Booklist

 

 

ST:  Thanks for being here, Jennifer. What can you tell us about how your book, The Lost Forest, came to be published?

JS: Thanks so much for having me. I’m thrilled to share my story. Here goes:

This book was tons of fun to research and write! Why? Because I got to hang out with two amazing science teams and watch them in action as they researched an amazing discovery under the sea. My book journey is a lesson in making connections with people. I am lucky enough to be good friends with one of the scientists that was an expert on my Astronaut-Aquanaut book. His name is Dr. Brian Helmuth, and he works at Northeastern University and Nahant Marine Science Center. I’ve known Brian since 2016 when I reached out via email to ask him to be an expert on
my Astronaut-Aquanaut book and we have stayed in touch since then.

In April 2020, he was a member of a team of scientists from Ocean Genome Legacy
Center and the Nahant Marine Science Center at Northeastern University that had received a
grant from the National Science Foundation to dive on an ancient underwater forest discovered
off the coast of Alabama.

Introduction page from the book, The Lost Forest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the email I received from Brian in April 2020, he asked me if I’d be interested in writing a children’s book on the team’s research journey.My response was, “Would I? Absolutely!”
So, Brian talked to Dr. Dan Distel, the principal investigator of the project and suggested
that I become an ad hoc member of the team. They both agreed, and the rest, as they say, was
history. I got an inside view of how a real science team conducts their research. I was SO
excited!

Team of scientists from The Lost Forest book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why is this forest so awesome? This forest isn’t just any forest, it’s composed of cypress
wood. Cypress doesn’t normally grow in water, so it makes sense that this forest was once on
land. Researchers determined that the forest was approximately 60,000 years old. Talk about
As an adjunct member of the team, I was invited to go on one of their research trips into
the Gulf of Mexico—to go out to the real site (kept secret so that furniture companies wouldn’t
harvest it to make furniture).

Unfortunately, we all know what happened in 2020 (covid!), so the dive scheduled for September 2020 didn’t take place. Instead, the team had virtual meetings todiscuss what they had learned from their dive in late 2019. I was invited to participate in several of these meetings. It was so thrilling, seeing the photos, the videos, and hearing the team discuss their findings.
An underwater forest from the book, The Lost Forest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The team was awesome! I interviewed them all and they gave me access to all of their
reports, photos, and videos. It was so exciting to get an inside look at how scientists conduct
research in the field. The entire team helped to edit the book and were with me every step of the
way. They were SO great to work with!

 

QR codes to see the scientists actual dive video of the underwater forest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m beyond proud to tell their story.
So, I invite you all to check out the book! Millbrook Press put QR codes that lead the
reader to the actual videos that the scientists took while diving. It’s incredible!
Watch my  book trailer HERE

 

You can read more about the book and purchase it HERE 

To learn more about me and the rest of my books, please visit my website:
https://jenniferswansonbooks.com/
Also, check out my podcast for kids and families. We interviewed Brian about the
Underwater Forest https://solveitforkids.com/podcast/episode-1-mapping-underwater

 

ST: Thanks for sharing your story with us, Jennifer

JS: It was my pleasure. Science ROCKS!

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Cover Reveal – The Lost Forest

By on December 14, 2023   /   Articles, Cover Reveal  
The Lost Forest
text saying "cover reveal"

The Lost Forest

I have a special treat today … MUF gets the exclusive opportunity to reveal the gorgeous new cover for The Lost Forest (Millbrook Press, April 2, 2024) Check this out!The Lost Forest

 

What’s even better about today’s cover reveal is that this is the latest work from MUF’s very own Jennifer Swanson, and is a JLG gold standard book.JLG

About The Lost Forest:

Dive into the unexpected! Have you ever heard of an underwater forest? They are rare, but they exist. Ancient stumps stand tall in a secret location, hidden from view for more than 60,000 years.

Take a deep dive with scientists exploring a sunken cypress forest that had been undisturbed in the Gulf of Mexico since the last Ice Age. Page Plus links lead to videos of the scientists at work.

In addition to getting our MUF exclusive cover reveal, I got a chance to chat with my friend and colleague Jen abotu writing her newest amazing book.

Interview with Jen Swanson

HMC: Congratulations, Jennifer! And congratulations on your Junior Library Guild Selection! Your book sounds really cool. An underwater forest? What is that exactly?

JS: Yes, most people don’t think that forests can be found underwater, but of course, they can. Most underwater forests are kelp, which sort of looks like big, wavy, palm trees that look like seaweed.

But the forest that these scientists studied is an ancient cypress forest. Cypress trees are normally found above ground, not under the water. That’s why this is so special. There are still partially standing trees—some as tall as 6 feet—in the water. This ancient forest is believed to have been covered by silt and sand for almost 60,000 years.

HMC: So the description says that this was a secret underwater forest. Why is it secret?

This forest was revealed in 2018 after Hurricane Ivan went through the Gulf of Mexico. It was discovered by accident by fishermen who saw that this area had a lot of fish around it. The fish were feeding off of the creatures that were living in and around the forest.

The cypress forest is a treasure trove of information about the environment in the Gulf of Mexico. It needs to be preserved and studied. But the cypress trees are also very valuable, so the exact location was initially kept secret so that companies would not harvest the wood and make furniture out of it.

HMC: How did you become aware of this story?

One of the lead scientists on the only team chosen to do research on the site is a good friend of mine. Dr. Brian Helmuth was the expert on my Astronaut-Aquanaut book. We’ve stayed in touch since that book and I’ve visited his lab in Nahant, MA. Once he learned that his team was chosen to be the ones to do the research, he called me and asked me if I was interested in writing their story. WAS I? Absolutely! It was a truly wonderful experience.

HMC: What was the most exciting thing about writing this book?

JS: The scientists on this project made me a part of their actual team. I was invited to attend several of their planning meetings, and was even invited to go out on one of their research trips to the forest. Unfortunately, I was not able to do so, but I got tons of access to them, their data, and all of their photos and videos. They made me an honorary aquanaut, which to me, is a huge honor!

HMC: What do you have coming up next?

JS: I’m excited to see my first ever narrative nonfiction picture book biography come out next year. It’s called, Up Periscope: How Engineer Raye Montague Revolutionized Shipbuilding (Little Brown BFYR). The book is illustrated by the fabulous Veronica Jameson and follow the life of the U.S. Navy’s Hidden Figure, Raye Montague. The amazing Ms. Montague was the first person to figure to develop a computer program to design a ship. Before that, everyone had to make calculations by hand and it too months and months. This is the very inspiring story of how Raye faced many challenges to accomplish this amazing feat. The book releases November 2, 2024.

HMC: Where can everyone learn more about you and your other books about STEM?

JS: You can find information about me, my books, and tons of STEM resources including free teacher guides, videos for students, and learn about my podcast, Solve It! for Kids at my website: https://jenniferswansonbooks.com/

HMC: Thanks again, Jen and congratulations!

TO PREORDER THE LOST FOREST:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lost-forest-an-unexpected-discovery-beneath-the-waves-jennifer-swanson/20184903?ean=9781728493015

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