Timber!: A Northwoods Story of Lumberjacks, Logging, and the Land

A heavily illustrated children’s history of the logging boom in the 19th century and the conservation efforts that followed.

How did the logging boom begin? What was it like to work in the woods? What happened to the land after the trees were cut down? The latest book for young readers from father-daughter duo Jerry Apps and Susan Apps-Bodilly explores the origin story of Wisconsin’s logging boom, the devastation it caused to the land, and the extraordinary efforts to restore the cutover land and log sustainably.

Timber! helps young readers examine a complex and pivotal chapter in our state and nation’s history, covering a wide range of topics, including:

- how Native people used, shared, and relied on natural resources for thousands of years

- the forced removal of Native people from forested lands

- how the lumber industry made possible the westward expansion of the United States

- what it was like to work in a logging camp, on a log drive, and inside a sawmill

- the roles on a logging team, from sawyer to cook

- the destructive legacy of early logging practices and early efforts to restore the land

- the emergence of sustainable forestry practices

This comprehensive yet easy-to-read history includes letters, postcards, and other primary sources paired with discussion questions designed to engage young readers’ creativity and critical-thinking skills. Timber! also features more than 100 images, a glossary, suggested activities, and an extensive list of related resources, including books, websites, teaching materials, museums, and outdoor places to visit. Timber! will inspire readers of all ages to explore, protect, and learn about trees and forests in their own communities.

Susan Apps-Bodilly is a retired elementary and middle-school educator. She is the author of One Room Schools: Stories from the Days of 1 Room, 1 Teacher, 8 Grades and Seeds in Soil: Planting a Garden and Finding Your Roots, as well as coauthor with Jerry Apps of Old Farm Country Cookbook, all published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

Jerry Apps is a well-known rural historian and professor emeritus for the College of Agriculture and Life Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of more than fifty books for adults and children, including Wisconsin Agriculture: A History; Garden Wisdom: Lessons Learned from 60 Years of Gardening; and When the White Pine was King: A History of Lumberjacks, Log Drives, and Sawdust Cities in Wisconsin, from which Timber! is loosely adapted. He and his wife, Ruth, divide their time between their home in Madison and their family tree farm, Roshara, in Waushara County.