Home in the Forest by Koshel Patel

1. Home in the Forest
Written by Kosha Patel
Illustrations by Kay Grimes

4. It was a crisp, clear day in the forest. “Brrr…,” said
Sugarpop, as a blast of cold air ruffled his red-gold leaves.
It will soon be time for me to go to sleep, he thought. The
days were getting shorter, and there wasn’t enough sunlight
to make food.
Lost in his thoughts, Sugarpop did not notice the little
creature on his branches. But her fluttering from branch to
branch made him look up. “Hello there. Are you new here?”
“Yes, I’m new here,” said the beautiful cardinal. Her
wings and back were olive- green. Her head was golden
brown with a reddish crest on top. Her beak was a bright
red. “My name is Olivia. What’s yours?”
“I’m Sugarpop. As you must have guessed from my red-
gold leaves, I’m a sugar maple tree. Welcome to the
Sheldon Forest.
4

5. “Thank you. I am really glad to be here. This forest looks
like a pleasant place to build a home. Okay, I’ll see you
later.” Olivia lifted off the branches and was soon flying
over the forest. White birch trees, multi-colored maple
trees, and jade green pines stood tall in the forest. Ferns
and baby oak trees lined the floor. Scattered here and there
were fallen, rotting tree trunks, mossy rocks, and
mushrooms with umbrella heads.
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6. Sugarpop saw Olivia land on top of his friend, the Mighty
Oak. She fluttered her wings in excitement and quickly flew
away.
The days began to grow shorter, darker, and colder.
Time to go to sleep, thought Sugarpop, as tiny snowflakes
covered his bare branches. The forest became quiet as
soft, white snow covered every part of it.
The winter had been a long, snowy one. But now birds
were chirping, tiny buds were unfurling, and busy squirrels
were jumping up and down the trees. Tiny rivers of melted
snow were making their way down the forest floor. A
striped chipmunk was bathing in the sun’s warm rays.
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7. Sugarpop woke up and looked around at the buds
covering his branches. They were slowly beginning to open
and grow into leaves. He looked up at the shining sun; then
down at the freshly melted snow. Ah, I can make fresh food
again, thought Sugarpop.
“Good morning, Sugarpop. Did you have a good winter
sleep?”
“Good morning, Mighty. Yes, thank you, I did,” replied
Sugarpop. Just then, he saw Olivia perched on one of
Mighty’s branches. Next to her was another cardinal.
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8. “Good morning, Sugarpop. This is my husband, Scarlet,”
said Olivia. “We have made our new home here.”
“Really? Where is it?” asked Sugarpop. Scarlet and
Olivia pointed to a bush on the edge of the forest. Sugarpop
leaned over and saw three spotted blue eggs in their nest.
“Congratulations!” he said. “You must be so excited.”
Sugarpop watched Olivia and Scarlet lovingly care for
their eggs. Every day they would bring in soft grasses to
line the nest they had built of twigs and bark. They were
always looking for seeds to eat. They had to be strong to
take care of the babies when they were born.
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9. “Drr-drr-drr,” a loud noise interrupted the happy forest.
“What was that?” asked Scarlet. He and Olivia flew towards
the noise. As they got closer, a huge yellow bulldozer came
into view. “Thwack…crash,” a huge oak tree fell to the
ground.
“They’re cutting down the forest,” said Olivia trembling.
“It’s happening again. What will happen to our babies?”
They flew swiftly to their nest to make sure their eggs were
safe.
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10. A soft crack made Olivia turn. She smiled and for a brief
moment, her mother’s heart filled with joy. Little beaks
began to pop out. Soon three fluffy brown balls emerged,
flapping their baby wings. “Chirp, chirp, chirp,” they sang,
as the forest celebrated their birth.
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11. A few days later, Sugarpop, Mighty, Olivia, and Scarlet
heard the sound of machines disturbing the peace of the
forest. “Broom, br…oo…m.” The bulldozers were back.
Olivia panicked. “The babies are too small to fly. What
should we do?” Scarlet flew off in search of an answer.
Sugarpop noticed the birds and asked, “Is there a
problem, Olivia?”
“They’re cutting down the forest. The babies are so
small. We are so worried. We don’t know what to do.”
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12. “That is a problem for us all. If the trees are cut down,
many animals will lose their homes. The soil will wash away.
We have to stop them,” said Sugarpop angrily.
“But how can we do that?” asked Scarlet who had just
returned. “We are so small. The machines are so big.”
“I have an idea.” said Sugarpop. “Let’s ask Grandfather
Tree. He is the oldest and wisest of us all.”
Scarlet and Olivia flew over to Grandfather Tree and
explained their problem.
“They will not cut down all the trees,” said Grandfather
Tree reassuringly. “The school allows the loggers to cut
down some trees when they get too thick. This makes room
for the baby oak trees and other plants to get sunlight, so
that they can grow.”
“But how can you be so sure?” asked the birds. “It could
be different this year. We just saw our woods in St. Albans
cut down to build a big store.”
“I have seen it happen before. But here, the children will
never allow it,” said Grandfather Tree calmly.
“The children?” the puzzled birds asked.
“Yes, don’t you know that this forest belongs to the
school? The children love the forest. What you love, you do
not destroy.” Grandfather Tree knew what he was saying to
be true.
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13. 13

14. Suddenly, silence greeted them. All was
quiet. Scarlet and Olivia looked at each other,
as did Sugarpop and Mighty. What was
happening? Scarlet and Olivia lifted their
wings and circled once, then twice over the
trees. The bulldozers were gone. The loggers
had left, taking with them the logs they had
cut down.
The sun’s rays shone through the trees
lighting up every part of the forest. Sugarpop
listened to the faint voices in the distance.
Who could resist the warm spring sunshine?
The children were coming to enjoy what they
loved.
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15. 14

16. The Sheldon Forest was given as a gift to
the Sheldon School in 1996 by the Rock-
Tenn Company. This wonderful resource
is an outdoor classroom for the children
of Sheldon. Learning about nature
hands-on makes it exciting and builds a
love for the natural world. This lifelong
love, we hope, will preserve this forest for
the generations to come.
Author’s Note
I wrote this story as a model for all young writers. I am awed
by the changes taking place in the forest as I walk through it in
fall, winter and spring. The hope is that children are inspired to
write after walking in the woods. I know that I was.
In 2009 2010, the final goal for the students in my Writing
Enrichment Class for grades 2 4, was that they would publish a
book by the end of the year. And so, I had to fulfill that goal
myself, too.
The fabulous illustrations are done in water colors by Kay
Grimes, who works as a paraeducator in the Sheldon School.
Kay spent hours and hours photographing the forest and then
capturing its beauty in each painting. Her illustrations make
this story come alive.
I would like to thank all the people who helped in the
publishing of this story.
Kosha Patel, Ph.D.
Literacy Specialist
Home in the Forest: Kosha Patel © 2011