Redwoods by Jason Chin

About the Book

Book Description:
In REDWOODS an ordinary train ride becomes an extraordinary trip to the redwood forest.

A young boy's subway trip is transformed when he happens upon a book about redwood forests. As the story unfolds, he learns more and more about the tallest trees in the world, and with each new bit of knowledge he is transported—all the way to California where he eventually climbs into the redwood canopy. Crammed with interesting and accurate information about these great natural wonders, Jason Chin's first book is innovative nonfiction set within a strong and beautiful picture storybook.

From the front flap:
When a boy riding the subway finds an abandoned book about redwood trees, strange things happen. He reads that their ancestors lived during the Jurassic period as dinosaurs appear at the window. Discovering that redwoods alive today first sprouted during the Roman Empire, he finds himself seated between two Roman citizens. And when, still reading, he emerges from the subway, he enters the very forest described in the book he holds in his hands . . .

Making the Book

A sketch from the original REDWOODS dummy.

REDWOODS is a blend of non-fiction and fiction, facts about redwoods delivered within a pictorial narrative that is pure fantasy. I'm told that my publisher had a difficult time deciding whether to market it as fiction or non-fiction. If they had asked me I might have suggested memoir. In 2006, I sat down in a New York City subway train and read about the discovery of the world's tallest tree, Hyperion, in a magazine article by Richard Preston. I was enthralled by his descriptions of researchers working in the redwood canopy, hundreds of feet above the forest floor. His words transported me out of the loud, smelly, crowded subway car to the redwood forest thousands of miles away. . . The seed of inspiration for REDWOODS had been planted. In early 2007 I finished the first dummy for REDWOODS, in which a boy finds a book on the subway and is transported away from his city life to the redwood forest.

By the time the dummy was accepted by Roaring Brook Press, a redwood forest had been growing in my imagination for some time, and in my head it was a thoroughly magical place. But no self-respecting, non-fiction author can write a book about a place he has never been, so I planned a trip to visit the redwoods. My fiancé, Deirdre Gill and I flew 3,000 miles to Portland, Oregon, then drove five and a half hours south to Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, to finally walk amongst the tallest living things on earth. I swelled with excitement as I saw, with my own eyes, everything I had researched. What had been imagined became reality, fiction turned to non-fiction; and at that defining moment the heavens opened to release a very real downpour upon our campsite. Luckily, there was an inexpensive motel just down the road.

The author in front of his flooded campsite.

Camping woes aside, the rain only enhanced the experience. The redwood forest is always breathtaking, but never more so than after it rains. Mist blankets the land, and through it, giants emerge, their wet bark dark against the glistening green of sword ferns and azaleas. For a moment the forest breaks the shackles of reality, revealing the magical land that I always knew was there. It's not a difficult place to make the leap from fact to fiction. I left California with an appreciation for redwoods that exceeded my expectations.

Upon returning to Brooklyn, armed with my memories of the forest and hundreds of photos from the trip, I began to paint. I chained myself to my drafting table, where I strove to blend fact with fiction; to strike a balance that would show the reader real trees without losing the magic of the forest. Four months later, I boarded the subway to deliver the final artwork to my editor. What began with a subway ride was about to, appropriately, end with a subway ride. Soon REDWOODS will appear in stores, confounding librarians and booksellers who won't be able to decide whether to shelve it as fiction or non-fiction. "Why not both?" I will suggest, "and if you want, you can put it with the memoirs too."

* Richard Preston is the New York Times Bestselling author of The Hot Zone, The Wild Trees, and Panic in Level 4. You can read more about his books and articles on his website, richardpreston.net