Murphy Library News

How to explain wildfires and firestorms to a child?

"When can we go home?" 

It's an innocent question that a child asks their parents. How to explain that their home is now a pile of ashes and rubble? That while the entire community is burning because of uncontainable wildfires, they will never be going back to the house they've called home? 

"We are home now," says the parents. "We are your home." 

Children's books can help a child or a teen understand things that are incomprehensible.

Using Murphy Library's search tool for "Wildfires--Juvenile fiction" brings back 12 book titles for children and teens. 

You can use the UW Resource services to request a copy from another UW System library if Murphy Library doesn't have a copy, or if it's already checked out.

Below are a few selected titles: 

"Out of the wood: A true story of an unforgettable event" is a picture book by Rebecca Bond. 

Based on a true story about the author's grandfather, this is a story about survival for humans and animals after a wildfire forces them to evacuate to a lake and come together, standing in the water, to watch fire destroy their homes. 

This book can be requested using the UW Resource services from another UW System library. 

This picture book follow twelve-year-old Cara Donovan and her family who must flee a wildfire bearing down on their hometown of Pine Grove, Idaho with no time to find Cara's beloved dog Mike. Cara can't stand to lose Mike as well and seeks a way to sneak back to Pine Grove. When her plans are thwarted, she must learn to embrace a new definition of "home" (ages 6-8).

Missing Mike by Shari Green

Murphy Library Curriculum Center, call # 813.6 Gre (in the nonfiction collection).

This new picture book follows Simone, A Vietnamese girl who must flee her home with Má must to take shelter. Helped by her Má's memories of her childhood in Việt Nam, Simone navigates her way through the crisis. This powerful story, straddling two generations and two countries, shows how communities come together in tough times, and how the youngest can imagine the path to a better future.

Simone (2024) by Viet Thanh Nguyen

This book can be requested using the UW Resource services from another UW System library. 

This book was also recently purchased and will be added soon to the Alice Hagar Curriculum Center.

This picture book show the struggles of forest animals to survive when fire breaks out on Spruce Mountain, and the actions of the firefighters who work through the night to stop the blaze.

Wildfire! (2021) by Ashley Wolff

This book can be requested using the UW Resource services from another UW System library. 

This is a young adult book that follows protagonist Hannah and her best friends who accidentally spark an enormous and deadly wildfire headed towards Yosemite National Park. Their instinct is to lie, but as the blaze roars through their rural town, Hannah's friends begin to crack and one ends up missing.

Lies like wildfire (2021) by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Murphy Library Curriculum Center, call # Alv (in the young adult fiction collection).

Compiled by Teri Holford, Education Liaison Librarian

This young adult fiction book follows Addy, who is haunted by the tragic fire that killed her parents, leaving her to be raised by her grandmother. Now, years later, Addy's grandmother has enrolled her in a summer wilderness program. Deep in the forest the kids learn new and strange skills: camping, hiking, rock climbing, and how to start and safely put out campfires. Most important, they learn to depend upon each other for companionship and survival. But then comes a devastating forest fire... Addy is face-to-face with her destiny and haunting past. Developing her courage and resiliency against the raging fire, it's up to Addy to lead her friends to safety. Not all are saved. But remembering her origins and grandmother's teachings, she's able to use street smarts, wilderness skills, and her spiritual intuition to survive.

Paradise on fire (2021) by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Murphy Library Curriculum Center, call # Rho (in the young adult fiction collection).

This picutre book follows one boy who, after moving from the city to the forest, discovers his new home and that there is friendship in the midst of the forest. But when he spots a fire on the horizon that soon engulfs everything he's come to know—the bugs, the plants, the fox, he is forced to flee. He wonders how he can ever feel at home again?

He learns that with time, the forest will regrow, the animals will return to their home, and so will the boy and his mom.

Written by a firefighter, this picture book has a unique perspective on the topic of wild fires and is a recommended resource for talking about topics like the environment, natural disasters, forest management, and emergency preparedness. The author-illustrator reflects on his own experiences with forest fires and provides backmatter for additional context.

The fox and the forest fire (2018) by Danny Papovici

There is no copy of this picture book within the UW System libraries.

This book was recently purchased and will be added soon to the Alice Hagar Curriculum Center.

This picture book is a story about making tough choices when disaster strikes.

"Malia and her family are spending a day outside when they notice something strange. Huge white-and-gray clouds fill the sky, planes zoom overhead, and the air smells funny. A forest fire is sweeping the area, and they need to evacuate their home.

Daddy tells Malia that she needs to choose what to bring. “Pick small things. Things important to you,” he says. But there’s so much that Malia wants to take with her. As the pile in her room grows, and chaos swirls around her, Malia comes to realize that what is most important to her won’t fit in a backpack: her little brother, her cat, and her dog.

This powerful story explores a rare perspective: experiencing a natural disaster through the eyes of a child. Malia’s authentic voice will resonate with readers, and the book’s challenging subject matter is balanced with gentle lessons in communication, problem-solving, and family."

What to bring (2023) by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

There is no copy of this picture book within the UW System libraries.

This book was recently purchased and will be added soon to the Alice Hagar Curriculum Center.