"The story of the near-extinction and recovery of the American Chestnut tree."--

"Beginning in the late 1980s, a series of improbable bark beetle outbreaks unsettled iconic forests and communities across western North America. An insect the size of a rice kernel eventually killed more than 30 billion pine and spruce trees from Alaska to New Mexico. Often appearing in masses larger than schools of killer whales, the beetles engineered one of the world's greatest forest die-offs since the deforestation of Europe by peasants between...

"Kittens Max, Cantaloupe, and Melon love the Big Tree. In spring, they climb it. In summer, they stargaze on it. In autumn, they play in its leaves. It’s always been there. But now the Big Tree is sick. Really sick. And Melon and Cantaloupe’s parents have to cut it down. Max is sad to lose the Big Tree, but he’s even sadder for his friends. The Big Tree was in their yard for their whole lives—it was their friend. More than anything, Max...