Joyce Slayton-Mitchell

In Knuckleboom Loaders Load Logs, Joyce Slayton Mitchell takes readers on a trip from the woods to the sawmill.

Huge saws, hi-tech feller bunchers, rugged knuckleboom loaders, and speedy slasher saws are just some of the fascinating machines that are used to turn trees into lumber, sawdust, wood chips, and many other useful materials. The superb full-color photographs by veteran photographer Steven Borns, and the author's straightforward descriptions, make it easy for armchair visitors to follow along as trees are felled and delimbed in the forest and then trucked to the sawmill where they are scaled, sorted, debarked, and sawn. Children will delight in scanning the crystal-clear pictures to imagine themselves operating each machine and figuring out which is doing what. A glossary of timber talk, a page of forest facts, and a list of forestry websites for children and teachers help readers young and old learn the lingo and understand more about trees -- our most important renewable natural resource.