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Creekfinding: A True Story
Once upon a time a creek burbled up and tumbled across a prairie valley. It was filled with insects and brook trout that ate them, frogs that chirruped and birds watching for bugs and fish. This is a true story about a man named Mike who went looking for that creek long after it was buried under fields of corn. It is the story of how a creek can be brought back to life, and with it a whole world of nature.
In the words of award-winning author Jacqueline Briggs Martin and the enchanting illustrations by Claudia McGehee, this heartening tale of an ecosystem restored in the Driftless Area of northeast Iowa unfolds in a way that will charm and inform young readers who are drawn to a good mystery, the wonders of nature—and, of course, big earth-moving machines.
In the words of award-winning author Jacqueline Briggs Martin and the enchanting illustrations by Claudia McGehee, this heartening tale of an ecosystem restored in the Driftless Area of northeast Iowa unfolds in a way that will charm and inform young readers who are drawn to a good mystery, the wonders of nature—and, of course, big earth-moving machines.
36 pages, Hardcover
Published March 7, 2017
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176 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
February 25, 2018
Rereading for Spring 2018 cli-fi class.
This is one of my favorite books this year (2017), a year in which the Trump administration and Scott Pruitt intend to gut the EPA. So I needed some happier environmental news. A guy bought some land in northern Iowa, and was told by a new neighbor that a creek once ran through it; he said he fished for Brook Trout in it as a kid, but said the creek had been bulldozed over to create more land for crops.
This is the guy that bought the land, Michael Osterholm,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...
prominent in public health, loving nature, understanding ecosystems. He thought: What if we uncover the creek? Could we restore the ecosystem? Could birds and fish come back? Could Brook Trout flow through that creek again?
Yep, you guessed it, they did it, a true story, both educational and inspirational, with some footnotes to help you understand the reasons behind each decision they made along the way! The telling is straightforward, not poetic. The artwork is woodcut, maybe a little dark for the story, with some (maybe not quite enough) color, but there's lots of movement and joy in it, finally. Yay! More feel-good environmental stories!
This is one of my favorite books this year (2017), a year in which the Trump administration and Scott Pruitt intend to gut the EPA. So I needed some happier environmental news. A guy bought some land in northern Iowa, and was told by a new neighbor that a creek once ran through it; he said he fished for Brook Trout in it as a kid, but said the creek had been bulldozed over to create more land for crops.
This is the guy that bought the land, Michael Osterholm,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...
prominent in public health, loving nature, understanding ecosystems. He thought: What if we uncover the creek? Could we restore the ecosystem? Could birds and fish come back? Could Brook Trout flow through that creek again?
Yep, you guessed it, they did it, a true story, both educational and inspirational, with some footnotes to help you understand the reasons behind each decision they made along the way! The telling is straightforward, not poetic. The artwork is woodcut, maybe a little dark for the story, with some (maybe not quite enough) color, but there's lots of movement and joy in it, finally. Yay! More feel-good environmental stories!
March 16, 2018
Inspiring, factual (read based on a true story, and I do wish that author Jacqueline Briggs Martin had also included suggestions and links for further study and reading in her otherwise excellent author's note on Mike Osterholm, on the main protagonist, the main hero so to speak), I have both massively enjoyed and intensely appreciated Creekfinding, not only because of the end result, a reclaimed, a rediscovered ersthwile existing creek (in a prairie field where the former owner, a farmer, had bulldozed under and filled said creek's former area with soil to make a corn field) but also and for me, very importantly, as well as a trifle ironically, that Mike Osterholm has ended up using many of the same technologies and machinery that the farmer had used to destroy, to plug up, to choke off the creek with dirt and debris to now reclaim and rehabilitate the land, to return it to its natural state, including there again existing a creek filled with aquatic plants, with sculpin and even trout (how with a combination of common sense, knowledge and imagination, Mike Osterholm has made use of the means and ways of modern technology to suit his purposes and goals of helping nature, of reclaiming natural spaces, such as for example, when he realises that the heavy trucks filled with necessary rocks for the new old creek, having them drive over the prairie landscape would of course tend to injure, tend to destroy delicate grasses and other prairie plants, Mike decides to wait until winter, until the ground is frozen and then also uses cement trucks to spread the rocks more evenly in the "new" creekbed, thus showing by and through these examples, through his actions, that modern technology and machinery can and should also be of use for protecting the environment and reclaiming wild spaces).
And as to Claudia McGehee's accompanying woodcut like illustrations, they appear as both dark and colourful at the same time, presenting to and for my eyes very much prairie-based and themed colour hues that almost have a jewel like quality to them, the perfect mirror of and for the author's text, of and for Jacqueline Briggs Martin's printed words, and also truly inspiring and evocative on their own and in their own right (and although personally, I have found Claudia McGehee's human figures perhaps a bit too one-dimensional and stylised compared to her renditions of nature, of flora and fauna, this is but a very mild and personal quibble, and I really do most highly recommend Creekfinding as in all ways a lovely, optimistic, hopeful, thought-provoking marriage of text and image, a celebration of nature, of joyfully reclaiming nature).
And as to Claudia McGehee's accompanying woodcut like illustrations, they appear as both dark and colourful at the same time, presenting to and for my eyes very much prairie-based and themed colour hues that almost have a jewel like quality to them, the perfect mirror of and for the author's text, of and for Jacqueline Briggs Martin's printed words, and also truly inspiring and evocative on their own and in their own right (and although personally, I have found Claudia McGehee's human figures perhaps a bit too one-dimensional and stylised compared to her renditions of nature, of flora and fauna, this is but a very mild and personal quibble, and I really do most highly recommend Creekfinding as in all ways a lovely, optimistic, hopeful, thought-provoking marriage of text and image, a celebration of nature, of joyfully reclaiming nature).
July 23, 2021
Loved this! Inspiring, hopeful, beautiful. It tells the true story of Dr. Michael Osterholm's dream and (successful) efforts to restore an old farmed field to native prairie and bring back the stream that once ran through it. Wonderful! Like the author, I love stories about "finding and fixing" especially when it has to do with the environment. I hope many readers will experience this story and feel encouraged to do whatever they can in their own backyards and beyond. (Note: it was really interesting and ironic to see the big earth movers and concrete trucks being used to help restore nature here, rather than harming it as is so often the case.)
March 16, 2018
This inspirational child's storybook for ages 5-9 features the beauty of the natural world plus animals and big earth-moving equipment! Even parents are guaranteed to enjoy this one. The story is true, of a scientist who had heard the land upon which he lived once had a creek but had been bulldozed flat to make larger corn fields. The mind boggles at the necessity for this travesty.
He found photographs of the land in the time before and when an old man told him he'd fished the stream for brook trout, the scientist decided to try to find the creek. If it had been there since time immemorial, perhaps it was just waiting to be found.
The gorgeous full-color woodcuts by Claudia McGehee add immeasurably to the exciting story of discovery created by Caldecott winner Jacqueline Briggs Martin. The scientist dug the field, found the creek, built a bed, planted the sides, repopulated the waters that flowed from the head of the spring.
The actual events in this story take place in northeast Iowa. Thanks to the University of Minnesota Press for putting so much effort into making this the most beautiful and inspirational storybook published in 2017, surely. Brilliant job, everyone!
He found photographs of the land in the time before and when an old man told him he'd fished the stream for brook trout, the scientist decided to try to find the creek. If it had been there since time immemorial, perhaps it was just waiting to be found.
The gorgeous full-color woodcuts by Claudia McGehee add immeasurably to the exciting story of discovery created by Caldecott winner Jacqueline Briggs Martin. The scientist dug the field, found the creek, built a bed, planted the sides, repopulated the waters that flowed from the head of the spring.
The actual events in this story take place in northeast Iowa. Thanks to the University of Minnesota Press for putting so much effort into making this the most beautiful and inspirational storybook published in 2017, surely. Brilliant job, everyone!
November 29, 2017
A librarian recommended this to me and it was definitely a fascinating read of how one man reclaimed his land to bring it back into its natural state. This is perfect to show readers there are all types of ways to be a hero and save the world- in this case, taking care of nature.
Read
March 7, 2017Many years ago, a creek ran through the Iowan countryside. It teamed with fish and insects attracting local wildlife to the creek’s plentiful banks. All that changed when a farmer bought the acreage and bulldozed the creek away from its natural course. For years the land was farmed until a new owner, Mike, bought the property. Mike wanted to restore the parcel to its original wildness by bringing back the creek. Many thought Mike’s plans were foolish, but he moved forward confident in his vision. After much research, hard work, and help, Mike found and restored the creek to its original glory.
Creekfinding is a unique children’s story quaintly illustrating Mike Osterholm’s true-life undertaking. Though the narrative is simple, this story’s message is not naive. Martin takes on the massive debate of man verses the earth and effortlessly switches it to man working with the earth as she relates Osterholm’s tale. Using scratchboard, watercolor, and dyes, McGehee exhibits the colorful process of rediscovering and nurturing wildness. Similar to Henry Cole’s On Meadowview Street, Creekfinding will have young readers thinking how they can find and support their own wilderness in the places they live. A though-provoking yet fun non-fiction read for ages five and up.
(Review found on Children's Compass Chronicle: childrenscompasschronicle.blogspot.com)
Creekfinding is a unique children’s story quaintly illustrating Mike Osterholm’s true-life undertaking. Though the narrative is simple, this story’s message is not naive. Martin takes on the massive debate of man verses the earth and effortlessly switches it to man working with the earth as she relates Osterholm’s tale. Using scratchboard, watercolor, and dyes, McGehee exhibits the colorful process of rediscovering and nurturing wildness. Similar to Henry Cole’s On Meadowview Street, Creekfinding will have young readers thinking how they can find and support their own wilderness in the places they live. A though-provoking yet fun non-fiction read for ages five and up.
(Review found on Children's Compass Chronicle: childrenscompasschronicle.blogspot.com)
May 9, 2018
I never knew that you could restore a creek once it had been plowed or bulldozed under. Fascinating! If you restore it, they will come back—and they did, all the birds, insects, frogs, fish, and other animals that used to live in or by the creek. Of course, for this to happen, the rocky bottom and some of the plants had to be replaced by Mike and his helpers, and they also had to reintroduce the brook trout. The illustrator notes at the back of the book that she visited what is now known as Brook Creek and took pictures so she could accurately recreate the place. She did a beautiful job. Her illustrations are full of the curving and vibrant lushness of the wildflowers and other plants, as well as all of the animals in and on the banks of the creek. Imagine what a transformation it would be, to watch a cornfield turn into such a place brimming with life! Mike is lucky to be living there to enjoy it every day. Martin notes the real message at the end of the book:
“Restoring Brook Creek reminds all of us—kids, too—that dreams do come true and that our dreams make a difference. We can restore parts of our world that have been lost or degraded. I hope kids will remember from this story that we can change the world by acting on our dreams.”
Highly recommended, for both young and old.
“Restoring Brook Creek reminds all of us—kids, too—that dreams do come true and that our dreams make a difference. We can restore parts of our world that have been lost or degraded. I hope kids will remember from this story that we can change the world by acting on our dreams.”
Highly recommended, for both young and old.
May 28, 2017
The true story of how a man bought an old farm, decided to turn part of the land into a wildflower field and then learned from older locals that there used to be a creek running through the field. He decided to try and restore the creek despite many telling him it wouldn't work. But it did work, and this book tells kids how Mike and his friends made that happen.
A fascinating story of how creeks can be buried and then restored. In the back of the book is a note from Mike, the man who did this. He is a world renowned epidemiologist which explains why he had the science know-how and money to fund this project. Not just anyone could have pulled it off successfully, as it does take a good understanding of wetland ecosystems and it would be expensive. Still a fascinating project, and I'm glad he successfully pulled it off. The author tells the story in a way kids can easily understand without letting them miss out on some really good ecology and biology info. Claudia McGehee's woodcut illustrations are fabulous. Pick this one for kids studying ecosystems.
A fascinating story of how creeks can be buried and then restored. In the back of the book is a note from Mike, the man who did this. He is a world renowned epidemiologist which explains why he had the science know-how and money to fund this project. Not just anyone could have pulled it off successfully, as it does take a good understanding of wetland ecosystems and it would be expensive. Still a fascinating project, and I'm glad he successfully pulled it off. The author tells the story in a way kids can easily understand without letting them miss out on some really good ecology and biology info. Claudia McGehee's woodcut illustrations are fabulous. Pick this one for kids studying ecosystems.
December 28, 2017
A nice digestible kid's story about an ecosystem and habitat restoration. I think this story definitely has a place in classrooms, and I think we could use it for class visits that include the green roof. I like Claudia McGehee's scratchboard illustrations -- she really captured the liveliness of the prairie. One thing about the text I don't particularly care for is that it's divided into small titled sections. It makes reading it aloud really clunky. BUT one thing I LOVE about the text is that there are all these fantastic asides about the insects, animals, plants, and science behind the creekfinding process. Those little facts make for great discussion-starters.
May 29, 2017
I really enjoyed this book as something different. It tells the story of a man who excavated a creek that used to run through the prairie land but was destroyed years before to be farm land. It is a neat story to tell in the environments unit for science when we talk about how habitats can be destroyed and what happens. Along with the story we tell of how the salmon are returning to the Nowrthwest because of the dams that harmed that natural ecosystem, this is another great book to share the story about things that can be returned here in the Midwestern prairie. It is great to show kids that just like things can be destroyed, things can be returned.
March 2, 2017
True story of a man who learned of a lost creek and how he was able to restore it.
August 1, 2019
This is a fantastic picture book; it would make a great read aloud.
January 11, 2020
This picture book about the restoration of a filled in creek to a thriving ecosystem is super darling. I particularly love the illustration style.
July 26, 2022
Amazing!!!!
February 17, 2018
Tells the story of a creek that was covered up by a farmer wanting more field, being rebuilt by a new owner of the land, from creek bed and rocks, through plants, insects, birds and animals.
December 16, 2017
This is a true story for kids that explains how a lost ecosystem in Iowa was brought back to life.
At the start of the book we get introduced to Mike, who wanted to grow a prairie in an old cornfield he bought. A neighbor told him there used to be a creek there. Mike wanted to find it and got excavators to scrape the ground to where the creek bottom used to be. Before long, water seeped in and filled it up. Then he had a new problem:
“ . . . a creek isn’t just water. It’s plants, rocks, bugs, fish, and birds.”
Somehow, he had to add those elements to his creek as well, and this book tells how he accomplished this.
It took over five years, but the creek became a whole world of nature with brook trout, herons, bluebirds, frogs, and insects of all kinds. If you go there today, the author writes:
“You’d hear the water ripple and burble - maybe a chuckle - maybe a thanks - to Mike and the big machines that found the creek."
At the end of the book, there are notes by both the author and the illustrator, and more information about Michael Osterholm, who restored the creek.
The illustrator, Claudia McGehee, visited Mike’s farm to gather images and impressions for her beautiful artwork which was made on scratchboard and then painted with watercolors and dyes. She says in her note: “I wanted to re-create the textures and colors I saw, so readers could ‘walk’ alongside Brook Creek as they learned about its restoration.”
There is an accompanying guide to further exploration, studying ecosystems, water conservation, community action, fish, and more here.
Evaluation: This book has interesting lessons to teach kids about ecosystems without being too didactic, and shows how people can and do make a difference.
Rating: 3.5/5
At the start of the book we get introduced to Mike, who wanted to grow a prairie in an old cornfield he bought. A neighbor told him there used to be a creek there. Mike wanted to find it and got excavators to scrape the ground to where the creek bottom used to be. Before long, water seeped in and filled it up. Then he had a new problem:
“ . . . a creek isn’t just water. It’s plants, rocks, bugs, fish, and birds.”
Somehow, he had to add those elements to his creek as well, and this book tells how he accomplished this.
It took over five years, but the creek became a whole world of nature with brook trout, herons, bluebirds, frogs, and insects of all kinds. If you go there today, the author writes:
“You’d hear the water ripple and burble - maybe a chuckle - maybe a thanks - to Mike and the big machines that found the creek."
At the end of the book, there are notes by both the author and the illustrator, and more information about Michael Osterholm, who restored the creek.
The illustrator, Claudia McGehee, visited Mike’s farm to gather images and impressions for her beautiful artwork which was made on scratchboard and then painted with watercolors and dyes. She says in her note: “I wanted to re-create the textures and colors I saw, so readers could ‘walk’ alongside Brook Creek as they learned about its restoration.”
There is an accompanying guide to further exploration, studying ecosystems, water conservation, community action, fish, and more here.
Evaluation: This book has interesting lessons to teach kids about ecosystems without being too didactic, and shows how people can and do make a difference.
Rating: 3.5/5
December 19, 2017
It’s an inspiring story by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (Snowflake Bentley, Farmer Will Allen and The Growing Table, among others) of a man named Mike who moves to some land and discovers that where he wanted to restore a corn field back to a prairie, he was told there had been a creek. Through years of work, he searched and found it, and Brook Creek is born again. Gorgeous scratchboard and painted illustrations by Claudia McGehee show the journey, the ripples and new life returning to the creek restored. First came the big machines that dug and dug until the trickle began to fill the stream bed. Grasses were planted and in a few years, more rocks were placed. Insects returned to leave their eggs, birds returned to nest, and finally, a few fish called ‘sculpin’ swam into the creek. The book explains that these fish indicate clean water, the same kind of water where brook trout survive. The journey continued when Mike and his friends added small “finger-sized” fish, trout! The language is poetic, like this: “Perhaps Brook Creek laughed, too--tickled by trout.”
Along some pages lie small-print explanations of certain actions, like how the sculpin ended up in this new Brook Creek. They are helpful to the story and subtly placed within the illustrations. There is also author’s and illustrator’s notes and a small piece about the Mike in the story.
Along some pages lie small-print explanations of certain actions, like how the sculpin ended up in this new Brook Creek. They are helpful to the story and subtly placed within the illustrations. There is also author’s and illustrator’s notes and a small piece about the Mike in the story.
February 13, 2018
Pretty artwork!
July 26, 2017
Beautiful illustrations. Would be a great group read aloud for k - 3, more one on one with younger kids as there is so much to take in. There is smaller text on many of the pages with more information that the kids could look at later. Would be great for a lesson plan on ecology or the environment. Many conversation starters, Why was the creek filled in? How best to find it again, how to actually do it? Why is it important? How long did it take? etc. Tons of vocabulary words. A great title to peak interest in the topic.
August 1, 2020
We enjoyed this clear but simple book about a buried creek that was "rediscovered" and brought back to life with the help of other people and some big machines. It's a nice way to introduce kids to the concept of ecology, and to encourage us to take care of the natural resources we have. In my mind it also ties in with the end of The Lorax, the last line of which reads, "Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back." Though on a much smaller scale, this book paints a picture of a restored natural space where insects, fish, amphibians, and birds thrive in clean spring water.
August 24, 2017
A beautiful true story about a farmer who figured out there was a creek under his property and exerted great effort to find the creek and help it to flourish again, to the point where it now sustains brook trout and many other species. The book itself is beautiful, too, with scratchboard etchings and watercolor vibrantly telling the story.
Readers who love nature will love this book!
-at
Readers who love nature will love this book!
-at
August 17, 2017
A beautiful true story about a farmer who figured out there was a creek under his property and exerted great effort to find the creek and help it to flourish again, to the point where it now sustains brook trout and many other species. The book itself is beautiful, too, with scratchboard etchings and watercolor vibrantly telling the story.
Readers who love nature will love this book!
Readers who love nature will love this book!
November 25, 2017
I love everything about this book. Humans don't have to be the ones who wreck the earth and make it uninhabitable. We can be the ones to help Earth heal. The guy who restored this creek is a real person. Famous for what he knows about public health and infectious diseases, but also "passionate about the prairie, cold water streams, brook trout, and partnering with the earth."
October 30, 2018
Wow. I can't believe this was based on a true story in Iowa. The story of one man's dream to find a lost creek and restore an ecosystem can teach small children the impact our decisions have on the land, both negative and positive. Further, the story teaches us nature doesn't restore over night; it takes hard work, patience, and time.
August 10, 2017
The true story of the retrieval of a creek is retold through words and pictures. Brook Creek had been eliminated by a farmer who wanted the land for crops. Michael Osterholm buys the land, and discovers the creek. His story of returning the creek to the land is retold through this book.
July 1, 2018
Lively language and beautiful, bright art tell the story of reclaiming a creek in a way that is both scientifically sound (food chain! creekbed engineering! etc! but with plain words) and engaging for quite young kids. I'm impressed!
December 22, 2017
A moving upper level picture book about a man retoring a creek that has been buried. lots of science and non fiction facts mixed in.
January 24, 2018
I liked it a lot. Great detail.
January 27, 2018
A true story about the rediscovery of a creek and the way it is restored. Paired with hand-colored scratchboard illustrations.
May 6, 2019
-This book received the Riverby Award and the Green Earth Book Award in 2018.
-2nd-3rd Grade
-Creekfinding is a true story about a man discovering a lost creek that has been buried under cornfields. His mission was to restore the creek to its former nature and also teaches readers more about creeks and what inhabits it, like fish, bugs, and its visitors, like birds. This book also shows how this man went through a lot of effort and teamwork to help make a creek more visible, and basically a creek again.
-This book is a very enjoyable read as it teaches young children the importance of nature and how we can come together and contribute towards keeping it free from any negative impact, like littering and pollution. Not only that, but it also teaches readers how being kind towards anything can bring upon something good. I would definitely suggest this book
-There are some activities these children can do based on this book. One good example is to have them create a story comparison chart, in which they recreate any page from the book. However, they are not just redrawing the page, but they are also making a separate page in which they replace the characters with them and have them twist it around which shows what they are kind towards and they also have to write about it.
-2nd-3rd Grade
-Creekfinding is a true story about a man discovering a lost creek that has been buried under cornfields. His mission was to restore the creek to its former nature and also teaches readers more about creeks and what inhabits it, like fish, bugs, and its visitors, like birds. This book also shows how this man went through a lot of effort and teamwork to help make a creek more visible, and basically a creek again.
-This book is a very enjoyable read as it teaches young children the importance of nature and how we can come together and contribute towards keeping it free from any negative impact, like littering and pollution. Not only that, but it also teaches readers how being kind towards anything can bring upon something good. I would definitely suggest this book
-There are some activities these children can do based on this book. One good example is to have them create a story comparison chart, in which they recreate any page from the book. However, they are not just redrawing the page, but they are also making a separate page in which they replace the characters with them and have them twist it around which shows what they are kind towards and they also have to write about it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews